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A new report from the New York Health Foundation offers a powerful but sobering reminder: one in ten older adults in New York are food insecure, and more than half struggle to access affordable, quality food.
Behind these numbers are daily decisions that no one should face—choosing between rent, medication, or groceries. Incredibly, a vital solution appears only once across the report’s 50-something pages: supplemental benefits such as OTC and grocery programs. More than an oversight, we see this as a missed opportunity to highlight one of the most direct, scalable tools available to improve food access, health outcomes, and dignity for older adults.
OTC and healthy benefit programs go beyond nutrition—they enable choice, dignity, and community.
For many older adults, the difference between “having food” and “having choice” is the difference between surviving and thriving. OTC and grocery programs meet people where they are, reducing stigma and reinforcing their connection to familiar community stores. These programs allow members to shop for the foods they know and love, in stores where they feel comfortable and respected. That autonomy transforms a benefit from a transaction into a lifeline for independence.
At ProHealth Connect, we see this every day. Older adults use their benefit cards at neighborhood supermarkets, small local grocers, and drugstores. They keep their normal routines, buy their favorite things, and connect with store owners they trust. They don't have to travel far or deal with complicated systems. These local connections are key. They show trust, access, and respect, which are the building blocks of both personal and community health.
When members can use benefits locally, participation rises, and health outcomes improve. At the same time, small retailers gain new revenue streams and become partners in community wellbeing.
Connecting Healthcare and Community
Food insecurity doesn’t exist in isolation—it reflects how healthcare, economics, and community intersect. By making OTC and grocery benefits visible, durable, and accessible, health plans and policymakers can strengthen that intersection instead of allowing it to fray.
Integrating these benefits across more plans and retailers can:
This isn’t hypothetical. It’s an already proven model already working in local stores across the state and nationwide.
The data is clear, the community impact visible, and the infrastructure already in place.
What’s missing is visibility and commitment. Reports and policy papers should not relegate OTC and grocery programs to a single mention—they should place them at the center of the conversation on hunger and health. Expanding these programs and ensuring they can be spent locally is one of the most immediate and scalable ways to fight senior hunger in New York and beyond.
The facts are clear, the benefits to the community are obvious, and the system to make it happen is already set up.
Now it’s time for people to see these programs. Because in a state as resourceful as New York, with systems as capable as ours, no one should age hungry.
