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

ABSTRACT

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%.