Meals on Wheels Faces Possible Cut in Federal Funds

The White House continues to defend Federal Budget Cuts.

Kris Shabestar, Meals on Wheels of Greater Lynchburg’s executive director, introduced the event as one of about 5,000 being held in various communities throughout the month.

Leaders at Richmond’s Feed More are closely watching developments in President Trump’s budget proposal, especially since budget cuts could affect the local Meals on Wheels programs that feeds hundreds of seniors across Central Virginia.

This proposed budget cut could eliminate $3 billion of the Community Development Block Grant Program which provides money for the federal Meals on Wheels program.

The local agency delivers more than 800 hot, nutritious meals daily to the area’s elderly and disabled. Group president Katherine Krause called the proposed budget cuts concerning. Meals on Wheels America Spokesperson, Jenny Bertolette, said they’ve had a 500 percent increase in volunteer inquiries for the program since then. They say nearly all of that is dedicated to food costs, meaning money lost is food off the tables of the elderly.

“If 48 percent of our budget is affected, you can see that would have a dramatic impact on the number of meals that we can provide here in Tarrant County”. Approximately 130 meals are prepared at the center each day and delivered by volunteers Monday through Friday.

“The four others are our adult day service, our personal support service, foster grandparents and senior employments”, Cody said.

A program which serves 2.4 million seniors in the United States could be on the chopping block.

But it’s not too early to begin disabusing those who choose to believe there is no outcome to stripping away these funding sources.

Meals on Wheels is not a federal program, Wasko said.

“If this funding all goes away, the Meals on Wheels program will feel it more in a wait-list type of situation”.

The remaining 35 people who receive meals are private pay, which means the client or a family member pays for their meals.

“The more we can get resources downstream out of Washington and back to the people who make a difference, the better”, Gaetz said.

Harrison says if you would like to help, monetary donations and volunteers are always needed.

Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland serves Baltimore City and seven other counties in the state. It operates seven meal sites in Olathe, Delta, Cedaredge, Hotchkiss, Paonia, Norwood and Nucla, plus delivers meals three days a week to people 60 and older who have been assessed as housebound.

The total potential reach of the activity, people either tagging the account or using the hashtag, was more than 587 million, according to Bertolette.

McGuire said cuts to the block grant program will most likely not take away meals from those that now receive them.