Nearly half of New York City's vulnerable older adults have faced food insecurity in the last year, new study finds

• A new study by Citymeals on Wheels surveyed 500 older New Yorkers about their access to food.
• Sixty-five percent of respondents said they live on $15,000 per year or less.
• Fifty-six percent receive SNAP benefits, but 34% said it's not enough to meet basic needs.

The Big Apple's Silent Generation and baby boomers face daunting food insecurity as they struggle to obtain regular meals, feel socially isolated from people who can help them get food, and lack support from government benefits like SNAP.

A new survey of 500 older people by nonprofit meal-delivery service Citymeals on Wheels and CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute highlights persistent hunger among New York's aging population: Forty-eight percent of people surveyed said they experienced some level of food insecurity in the past 12 months.

Food insecurity included worrying that food would run out before they received more money, or not being able to grocery shop or cook for themselves due to physical or psychological barriers.

The survey sampled New Yorkers over the age of 60; boomers are people between 59 and 75, and Silent Generation members are older than that. Survey participants either belonged to an older adult center or have received home-delivered meals, according to Citymeals on Wheels. Researchers aimed to gauge the effectiveness of such programs.

Researchers found that 65% of older New Yorkers surveyed are living on $15,000 a year or less. That's just 20% of the median household income in New York City, which was $74,694 in 2022, according to the Census Bureau. What's more, 32% of the people surveyed said they don't receive any Social Security benefits.

In New York City, there are nearly 1.8 million people aged 60 and older. Almost 10% of those individuals attend older adult centers and 27,547 received home-delivered meals last year, according to Citymeals on Wheels.

Another gleaning insight from the study is the mental health concern among New York City's aging population. Forty-five percent of survey respondents said they do not have friends or family who can provide them with at least one meal a day. And 82% of respondents said they have never utilized mental health services.

Among older people, social isolation such as being home-ridden or detached from technology can contribute to feelings of loneliness. Forty-five percent of respondents said they have little to no internet access and 38% said loneliness and depression were a concern.

Persistently high food bills

Fifty-six percent of respondents said they receive cash assistance for groceries through SNAP.

However, SNAP benefits are often not enough to pay for groceries. In fact, about 34% of respondents said the SNAP benefits they received were not enough to meet their needs.

One respondent said their income is just above the SNAP eligibility level, highlighting the precarious financial situation of ALICEs — asset limited, income constrained, and employed people who are trapped between making too much for benefits but too little to sustain themselves financially.

And while inflation is cooling, the cost of eating out is still a sore spot for many Americans right now. The cost of groceries remained flat from April to May, but the cost of food away from home, like eating at restaurants, increased 0.4%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And the cost of limited-seating food, like fast-food joints, increased 0.2% in the same time period, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's a burden for cash-strapped New Yorkers who might find it easier to eat a quick meal out than cook at home.

In fact, 41% of survey respondents said they're only sometimes or never able to grocery shop, and 15% said they're not able to cook for themselves, citing physical and mental difficulties.

Have you found it difficult to manage your food bills? Has the price of a favorite meal recently changed or surprised you? We want to hear from you. Email this reporter at jtowfighi@insider.com