The food stamp program is the primary federal nutrition assistance program for low-income New Yorkers, including our senior citizens. The food stamp program provides monthly benefits for eligible seniors to buy the groceries they want at local stores. Seniors do not have to worry they are taking food stamp benefits away from younger families with children.

As an entitlement program, any household who meets program guidelines for eligibility will receive food stamps. Eligibility guidelines for the food stamp program are also different and, in fact, more generous for people over 60.  

For example, un-reimbursed medical expenses over $35 are deducted, and seniors are allowed to have up to $3,000 in resources as well as up to $1,500 in designated burial funds (such as in a checking or savings account). Anyone can call Catholic Charities for income guideline information.

Estimates show only one in four eligible seniors in upstate New York are enrolled in the food stamp program. Did you realize seniors in Herkimer County are under utilizing monthly food stamp benefits? There are approximately 1,912 food stamp eligible seniors in our county with only 401 participating seniors in the food stamp program.  

More than 1,500 seniors in Herkimer County are not participating. This means a monthly loss in food stamp benefits to the county of $95,193, which equates to a loss in benefits to the seniors in Herkimer County of $1.1 million annually. The average amount of food stamps for seniors living alone in Herkimer County is $63 per month. For seniors living with another person, the average amount is $94 per month.

Food stamps are no longer given in the form of paper coupons. Instead, a plastic benefit card is issued to participants and used at the checkout counter just like a bank ATM card. The new system is referred to as EBT – Electronics Benefit Transfer – and can be used confidentially at any grocery store or convenience mart that accepts food stamps and carries a QUEST logo.

Catholic Charities of Herkimer County’s Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP) works with seniors to assist them in understanding the facts about the premier senior nutrition assistance program, food stamps. NOEP would like seniors to understand that food stamps are a federal entitlement program, like Social Security or Medicare, which helps families to stretch their food budgets.  

The Food Stamp Program is 100 percent federally funded and, studies have shown for every dollar we invest in food stamps, $3.25 is saved in health care costs. Also, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that every $5 in new food stamp benefits generates $9.20 in total community spending.  

Using food stamps helps our community by keeping more Herkimer County residents employed. As examples, our local farmers are able to grow more produce, increase milk production, raise more animals for meat and other products as the result of our eligible seniors and low-income families being able to buy more nutritious food with their food stamps, and local grocery stores are able to keep more people employed because of this.

NOEP also helps our seniors to apply for food stamp benefits by doing pre-screens, helping with the food stamp application process, helping to gather required documentation, contacting the local Department of Social Service on behalf of the applicant and other assistance as may be requested or necessary in order to help complete the food stamp application process. Please contact Ruth of the Nutrition Outreach and Education Program at Catholic Charities of Herkimer County at 61 West Street, Ilion, NY 13357, at 315-894-9917, extension 235, to see if you might be eligible for food stamps.

Ruth Hall is the NOEP coordinator for Catholic Charities of Herkimer County.