(P19-024-24) Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation Status Among Older Adults Living in Rhode Island

Objectives: Older adults are vulnerable and at risk for food insecurity. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program that enables low income-households to buy nutritious food such as fruits and vegetables. It is important to assess the nutritional reach and scope of SNAP at the state level. This study aims to describe the characteristics of older adults in Rhode Island (RI) who received SNAP benefits and to understand the association between receiving SNAP and fruit and vegetable intake.

Methods: We analyzed data from the 2019 RI Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), an annual national survey administered to a representative random sample of adults in each state. Responses of RI adults ≥65 years were included for analysis (n = 2,401; weighted N = 285,945). Descriptive statistics summarized demographic and health characteristics and logistic regression models estimated unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio (OR), with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs), of fruit and vegetable intake. The main predictor variable had three categories: SNAP recipients at any federal poverty levels (FPL), non-SNAP recipients and < 200% FPL, and non-SNAP recipients and ≥200% FPL. Adjusted models controlled for sex, race, education, and disability.

Results: Among older RI adults, 9.35% reported receiving SNAP benefits in the past 12 months. Mean age of SNAP recipients was 71.63 (SE: 0.40), and most were female (63.69%), attended high school or less (63.24%), and had disabilities (71.20%). Additionally, 62.76% of Hispanic older adults received SNAP benefits. Prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases were 2.20 (95%CI: 2.16-2.23) and 1.90 (95%CI: 1.87-1.94) times higher among those receiving SNAP compared to those not receiving SNAP. Adjusting for covariates, non-SNAP recipients < 200% FPL compared to all SNAP recipients had higher odds of vegetable intake (OR: 1.93; 95%CI: 1.11-3.35). There was no association between fruit intake and SNAP recipient status.

Conclusions: In RI, older adults receiving SNAP included vulnerable groups with high burden of chronic diseases. The lack of evidence to suggest differences in fruit intake by SNAP recipient status may indicate increasing access to fruits. However, differences in vegetable intake between impoverished non-SNAP and SNAP recipients needs further investigation.

Funding Sources: None