The effects of aging services and the supplemental nutrition assistance program on food insecurity among older Georgians: 2018-2020

Using administrative data from Georgia covering January 2018-August 2020, we estimated the effect of services provided through the Older Americans Act (OAA) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on food insecurity among older Georgians. Our sample included those who received services prior to and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. For the entire sample period, we found home-delivered meals and other OAA services reduced food insecurity by 3% and 4%, respectively. During COVID-19, the effect of SNAP on reducing food insecurity significantly increased from 2.1% to 4.7%, while the loss of traditional congregate meals services increased food insecurity by 7%.

Automated summary

Using administrative data from Georgia, the study estimated the impact of services provided by the Older Americans Act and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on food insecurity among older adults in Georgia. Findings showed that home-delivered meals and other services provided by the Older Americans Act reduced food insecurity, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the effect of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in reducing food insecurity increased, while the discontinuation of traditional congregate meals services led to an increase in food insecurity.