Pennsylvania sees 0.5% drop in residents taking part in federal food program for elderly
(The Center Square) – More than 34,000 Pennsylvania residents received assistance from the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) in 2020, a 0.5 percent decrease compared to the number of participants in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Nationwide, the number of food program participants declined 1.4 percent from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2020, according to the USDA. The 2019 participants numbered 702,565, dropping to 692,467 in 2020.
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program aims to supplement the diets of low-income seniors 60 or older with USDA foods. But the program also has child participants grandfathered into it, since children receiving food program benefits as of February 2014 can continue receiving the nutritional aid as long as they are eligible under program rules in place in February 2014, according to the USDA.
The program’s food funds and food packages, which are provided to participating states and Native American tribal organizations, do not provide complete nutrition but do offer nutrients that tend to be lacking in the diets of the target populations, the USDA reports. On average, nearly 676,000 participants received such benefits every month during fiscal 2018, the agency said.
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Year-by-Year Commodity Supplemental Food Program Participation
StateFiscal Year 2016FY 2017FY 2018FY 2019FY 2020 (Preliminary)Rate Change (FY 2019 vs. FY 2020)Alabama——7854,426463.8%Alaska1,9092,2702,6172,6792,578-3.8%Arizona12,52812,85115,52321,29918,660-12.4%Arkansas3,2054,4705,7556,4666,6623.0%California78,64787,02196,95498,606100,8232.2%Colorado15,25515,38015,11014,86714,522-2.3%Connecticut1,9342,3912,4672,4662,5332.7%Delaware2,2642,2192,1242,0952,039-2.7%District of Columbia5,0435,2115,2255,2055,2490.8%Florida2,5162,9486,9346,9067,2374.8%Georgia3,2774,6385,4726,1626,158-0.1%Hawaii2,0942,7953,5443,6333,6350.1%Idaho1,9141,9232,1942,1282,2033.5%Illinois16,02016,48117,18516,29015,348-5.8%Indiana3,6794,0594,7434,9605,3187.2%Iowa2,9203,1343,2953,3373,3510.4%Kansas4,9165,2615,6535,8855,560-5.5%Kentucky24,96226,85528,13730,60330,259-1.1%Louisiana58,75555,07853,26551,09842,968-15.9%Maine3,1545,6258,9248,2058,3311.5%Maryland1,7612,3862,7593,4053,4962.7%Massachusetts1,2962,3592,3712,4262,4260.0%Michigan72,75171,59971,14272,01171,203-1.1%Minnesota15,45414,88514,20413,55512,572-7.3%Mississippi10,19711,76912,50312,50312,8472.8%Missouri16,73921,11624,65424,67724,477-0.8%Montana8,1556,7586,1925,8655,709-2.7%Nebraska9,0068,2907,8377,5417,111-5.7%Nevada7,3147,2657,2037,2266,025-16.6%New Hampshire4,3483,9283,6343,4063,372-1.0%New Jersey3,1524,1635,5656,5456,6992.4%New Mexico15,59715,29814,95314,37313,685-4.8%New York29,49633,50731,33331,91127,333-14.3%North Carolina1,1492,7477,54510,67511,3826.6%North Dakota1,7561,8521,8901,8541,8741.1%Ohio21,89424,07725,75927,37828,9035.6%Oklahoma3,0573,2913,5834,0234,2776.3%Oregon1,7491,9482,3502,3922,4050.5%Pennsylvania34,21035,11635,47434,75334,567-0.5%Puerto Rico——65099252.6%Rhode Island9921,4861,4841,5481,6385.8%South Carolina5,5925,7825,7785,2445,3892.8%South Dakota4,4704,6074,3354,2354,081-3.6%Tennessee13,06212,53111,2419,6558,916-7.7%Texas35,40644,73853,33762,35265,0184.3%Utah2,5582,8143,0143,0592,970-2.9%Vermont2,7942,5752,3892,2682,240-1.2%Virginia2463,9675,95510,4419,915-5.0%Washington5,3165,6475,8445,7515,9082.7%West Virginia–1,2264,7215,2125,4925.4%Wisconsin10,78811,37711,82111,82711,481-2.9%Wyoming—-1013420855.2%
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
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