Bill aims to keep more kupuna eligible for SNAP benefits

The Keep Kupuna Fed Act would exempt Title II income, or Social Security benefits, from counting against benefits under SNAP, which provides low-income households with financial assistance to purchase food.

SNAP recipients must earn below certain income thresholds to qualify for the program’s benefits, but meeting those requirements has recently become a more difficult task for low-income seniors with Social Security benefits.

An estimated 5-10 percent of the 300,000 people 60 years and older who live in Hawaiʻi are food insecure, according to a report by Hawaiʻi Appleseed, and more than 1 in 5 Hawaiʻi residents receives Social Security benefits, according to a 2022 report by AARP.

Awareness is currently an issue, as only 50 percent of seniors eligible for SNAP are enrolled in the program, Hawaiʻi Appleseed said in its report.