Food Insecurity Increased to 1 in 10 Adults Ages 50 and Older in 2022

In 2022, nearly 11.8 million (or about 10 percent of) Americans ages 50 and older faced food insecurity and the threat of hunger. Food insecurity prevalence among this age group increased 25 percent between 2021 and 2022 (from 7.9 to 9.8 percent), reversing a decade-long decline.

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To be food insecure is to have limited or uncertain access to adequate, nutritious food. Food insecurity can lead to hunger and is associated with poorer health outcomes among older adults; in fact, adults ages 60 and older who are food insecure are more likely than those who have food security to have health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, asthma, and depression.

This updated AARP Public Policy Institute Fact Sheet describes trends in food insecurity and selected characteristics of food-insecure adults ages 50 and older. Differences in food insecurity prevalence vary by demographic factors, with persistent racial and ethnic disparities that are rooted in longstanding inequities across domains such as employment, housing, and health care. There is also variation from state-to-state, and those data are included in an appendix.