Seniors aged 60 or older in certain Indiana counties who have a household income at or below 130 percent of the current federal poverty income guidelines are encouraged to sign up for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which supplies free food to seniors.
Eligible individuals must meet the income criteria and live in Allen, Brown, Crawford, Dearborn, DeKalb, Dubois, Elkhart, Gibson, Hendricks, Huntington, Johnson, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte, Lawrence, Marion, Marshall, Martin, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Ohio, Orange, Owen, Perry, Porter, Posey, Spencer, St. Joseph, Steuben, Switzerland, Vanderburgh, Warrick or Whitley counties.
Each state in the federal CSFP program has a maximum number of seniors who can receive the monthly USDA food packages. In Indiana, 5,560 seniors can receive free food through the program.
Because the population of eligible seniors changes frequently, Indiana maintains a waiting list to ensure that 100 percent of the food packages are used each month. If the state does not achieve 100 percent participation, the maximum number of individuals who can receive food packages may be reduced.
State health official estimate that about 100,000 potentially eligible seniors in the state are not enrolled in the program.
CSFP works to improve the health of low-income persons at least 60 years of age by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA foods. The monthly packages include animal protein, plant-based protein, fruits, vegetables, starches, milk, grains and cheese.
More information about CSFP and how to apply can be found online at https://www.in.gov/isdh/24779.htm. A map of CSFP service areas and contact information can be found by clicking here.
Visit the state Department of Health’s website at health.in.gov for important health and safety information or follow us on Twitter at @StateHealthIN and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StateHealthIN.
