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Food

Senior food box (CSFP)

The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), often called the senior food box, gives people 60 and older with low incomes a package of USDA foods each month. Local agencies hand out the food and decide who qualifies. It runs in parts of every state but not in every area, so ask your state agency whether it's offered near you.

Checked

Rules set by the USDA Food and Nutrition Administration
An older man unpacks fresh vegetables, apples and eggs in his kitchen

Who may qualify

Who may qualify for Senior food box (CSFP)
One personMarried couple
Highest income limit a state may set (2026, 48 states and DC)$1,995 a month$2,705 a month

Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Administration (source 4)

Age60 or older

Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Administration (source 2)

Federal income ruleYour state sets the limit, at or below 150% of the federal poverty guidelines

Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Administration (source 3)

If you already get SNAP, SSI, Extra Help or a Medicare Savings ProgramYour state may accept that as proof your income is low enough

Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives) (source 6)

Where you liveYour state may require you to live in the area a local agency serves, but not for a set length of time

Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Administration (source 2)

Health checkSome states also require that you be at nutritional risk, as judged by a doctor or local agency staff

Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Administration (source 2)

What you may get

What Senior food box (CSFP) pays
What you get each monthA package of USDA foods: fruit, juice, vegetables, milk, cheese, grains and protein
Other helpNutrition education, and referrals to programs such as SNAP, Medicaid and Medicare

Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Administration (source 2)

Dates, renewals and waiting lists

Dates and renewals
How soon you hear backWithin 10 days of applying: approved, turned down, or placed on a waiting list

Source: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives) (source 7)

Good to know

  • To find out whether CSFP is offered where you live, contact your state agency. USDA lists each state's contact on its CSFP contacts page.
  • Income limits are higher in Alaska and Hawaii.
  • The food package adds to what you eat. It isn't meant to be a complete diet.
  • In a July 2025 notice on benefits for non-citizens, USDA said that although CSFP counts as a "federal public benefit" under the 1996 welfare law, it continues to run CSFP under a separate section of that law (8 U.S.C. 1615) that takes precedence.
  • If you have questions about how immigration status affects benefits, a free legal aid office can help. The Legal Services Corporation's finder lists the one near you.

Sources: USDA Food and Nutrition Administration (source 5), Legal Services Corporation (source 10)

What people get wrong

  • MythI already get SNAP, so I can't get the food box.

    Not true. Getting SNAP doesn't rule you out. Your state may even accept your SNAP approval as proof that your income is low enough.

  • MythThe food box is only for people below the poverty line.

    Not true. Each state sets its own income limit, and it can be as high as 150% of the federal poverty guidelines.

Sources

  1. USDA Food and Nutrition Administration, Commodity Supplemental Food Program (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  2. USDA Food and Nutrition Administration, Commodity Supplemental Food Program: Applicant/Recipient (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  3. USDA Food and Nutrition Administration, Commodity Supplemental Food Program fact sheet (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  4. USDA Food and Nutrition Administration, CSFP income guidelines (2026) (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  5. USDA Food and Nutrition Administration, Commodity Supplemental Food Program contacts (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  6. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives), 7 CFR 247.9: CSFP eligibility requirements (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  7. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives), 7 CFR 247.15: Notification of eligibility or ineligibility (CSFP) (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  8. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (National Archives), 7 CFR 247.33: Fair hearings (CSFP) (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  9. USDA Food and Nutrition Administration, PRWORA: Interpretation of "Federal Public Benefit" (notice of July 10, 2025) (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.
  10. Legal Services Corporation, I Need Legal Help (find LSC-funded legal aid) (official government site). Checked Oct 28, 2026.

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