ESAP State Enrollment Data Collection Project

The Elderly Simplified Application Project (ESAP) State Enrollment Data Collection Project measured the effects on food security among older adults who received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through an ESAP application. This work spanned a timeframe before and during the pandemic, coinciding with the issuance of the SNAP emergency allotments authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). AARP Foundation awarded grants to organizations to enroll households with low-income older adults in SNAP through the ESAP process, as applicable, and participate in the ESAP State Enrollment Data Collection Project. This analysis, which uses a difference-in-differences design and statistical controls, isolates the effect SNAP benefit receipt had on changes in food security. The study also compared the effect on food security separately for regular SNAP benefits and the extra emergency allotments authorized by the FFCRA.