Study: More Elderly Chicagoans Rely On Food Assistance Than Expected

By Anthony Todd in Food on May 22, 2012 7:20PM

The House and Senate are still arguing over the final form of the latest Farm Bill, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository wants you to pay attention. Why? Because the House version of the bill includes a $36 billion cut in SNAP benefits, known to many as "food stamps." Who gets food stamps? It's probably not who you think.

GFCD commissioned Heartland Alliance to perform a study on older adults in the Chicagoland area. Their findings might surprise you: Over 180,000 elderly adults in Cook County depend on federal food programs for their survival. SNAP provides about 90 percent of that assistance.

"We know that there is evidence of older adults coming into food pantries for food, but we've had a difficult time getting our arms around how many need food assistance," explained Kate Maehr, director of the GFCD. "Through the school system, we have a good idea of how many children qualify for federal nutrition programs and who is getting meals, since all of that is tracked. So we have this great data to explore the scope of the need for children. We didn't have a similar set of answers for how big the need was among seniors." Remember, approximately 1 in 6 people in Cook County are food insecure.

When people hear "food stamps" or SNAP, many images come to mind. Often, stereotypical images of the "lazy" undeserving poor, or of racial minorities, dominate the discussion over food assistance. "The face of hunger is not who you think," emphasized Maehr. "We hear a lot of stories of older adults who have done everything right. They are veterans, they saved money, they bought a house - but they find themselves in a set of economic circumstances and have to turn to food pantries or meal programs. It's a real blow to their pride." Because older adults are often reluctant to turn to food programs for help, there was very little information about them until this study.

The House version of the farm bill would cut approximately 1/3 of the total SNAP budget, about $32 billion. This is particularly problematic for older adults, who are often infirm, past retirement age and unable to find employment. Maehr explains: "We are talking about balancing a budget on the backs of older adults and children - people who are turning to a safety net at a time when they are falling. We should be thankful as Americans that we do have a safety net that catches us when we fall. It's profoundly sad when some of the older adults that I have met have done everything right, and they find themselves in a set of circumstances that they can't control. It's not like you can go out when you are 80 years old and earn income!"

The Senate version of the bill is significantly less austere, but still cuts approximately $5 billion from SNAP. How will this cut be absorbed? Maehr insists that food pantries, despite their hard work, simply cannot make up the difference. "The GFCD and the 200 food banks in the country are doing amazing work, but we cannot fill this gap. We are efficient and effective, but we were never designed to do that. There isn't enough donated food in the world to fill this gap, and we need to be honest with ourselves about that. We cannot fill the hole that Congress is threatening to make in this federal program."

We'll be keeping an eye on this as the farm bill moves through Congress. Until then, if you want to help out the Greater Chicago Food Depository, donate online.