Senior Hunger Fact Sheet

More than 5 million senior citizens age 60 and older struggle with hunger. In the next two decades, the number of seniors is projected to significantly increase and consequently, so is the number of seniors facing hunger.*Feeding America serves 7 million seniors age 60 and older each year.*Additionally, Feeding America serves nearly 6 million "older adults" ages 50-59 each year.*Elderly households are much less likely to receive help through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) than non-elderly households, even when expected benefits are roughly the same.*In 2015, 5.4 million Americans over the age of 60 were food insecure. This constitutes 8% of all seniors.*In 2016, 2.8 million (8%) households with seniors age 65 and older experienced food insecurity.*The number of food-insecure seniors is projected to increase by 50 percent when the youngest of the Baby Boomer Generation reaches age 60 in 2025.*It can be harder for seniors to protect themselves from hunger than it is for the general population. For example, one study found that food-insecure seniors sometimes had enough money to purchase food but did not have the resources to access or prepare food due to lack of transportation, functional limitations or health problems