The long-run prevalence of food insufficiency among older Americans

The prevalence of food insufficiency among seniors in any given year is well-documented, but the prevalence of this hardship over a longer time period in later life is unknown. Using panel data from the Health and Retirement Study, I find that about 8% of seniors report food insufficiency over a 2-year recall window, while 22% experience it at some point over the two decades of their 60s and 70s. Food insufficiency is not concentrated among a small group of persistently disadvantaged elderly, but is instead a surprisingly common feature of the later life course.