By Cole Gee | Staff Writer
As people age, it becomes harder and harder for them to take care of and provide for themselves. Fortunately, many organizations are working to provide community support and care for elderly citizens. One of these organizations is the food delivery group known as Meals on Wheels.
Meals on Wheels is a nonprofit organization that provides meals and social interactions to elderly or disabled citizens across the country. However, due to recent budget cuts by the Trump administration, the organization’s future is murky.
Last week, 40% of the Administration for Community Living staff had been cut. This administration specifically focuses on federal policy regarding aging and disabilities and is responsible for the funding that Meals on Wheels relies on to operate.
As of now, one in two seniors living alone currently lack the income to pay for basic needs. The administration helped Meals on Wheels distribute over 216 million meals a year to citizens across the country. However, the same citizens who rely on these meals and health checks are extremely vulnerable.
Ibby Jones has worked in the Waco branch of Meals on Wheels since 2012. Her main role in the organization is driving and delivering meals to customers, just like her father had when she was a child.
Working for the organization for a little over a decade now, she said they do more than just deliver food. For many elderly or disabled citizens, interactions with their deliverers are one of the few social interactions or health checkups they receive all day.
“I know sometimes we’ve come in and somebody has fallen and couldn’t get to the phone,” Jones said. “The very first day I delivered, the house we were going to, the lady had died. So you never know what you’re going to come up with. But people love seeing a face at their door and knowing someone’s checking on them. This is for people that can’t cook for themselves any longer, or they don’t have someone in the house that can cook.”
Meals on Wheels Waco serves all of McLennan, Falls and Hill Counties. There are more seniors relying on the organization than there are funds and drivers available. As of now, the organization has said there are still around 416 seniors still waiting to receive services.
Rachel Salazar is the current director of volunteers and coordinator of senior centers. Her work handles the more social side of Meals on Wheels, providing seniors the chance to talk and make new connections. She even has a favorite client by the name of Maxine, a 107-year-old senior who has been using Meals on Wheels since she stopped driving.
“My latest favorite is our 107-year-old client,” Salazar said. “She just turned 107 in February and we visited her and she just loves it. To her, Meals on Wheels is a reason to get up and face the day because she knows that someone’s coming.”
Salazar said in many cases the social connection that drivers make with their clients is sometimes “more important than the meal itself.” Meals on Wheels Waco plans multiple events to foster fun and social interactions with elderly citizens, from bingo to card games to even a golf tournament.
As the needs and costs for elderly citizens continue to rise, now more than ever they need others to advocate for themselves where they cannot, Salazar said.
“Advocate for seniors, be the voice for seniors and talk to your representatives,” Salazar said. “Tell them to make sure that senior services are not set aside. They should be prioritized because everyone will get old. So we need to make sure that senior services will be in place permanently for a long time. And the other part is donate. Every little bit helps.”
Meals on Wheels released a press statement regarding the mass termination of the ACL last week.
“We express urgent concerns about the loss of legacy knowledge, expertise and access to services resulting from yesterday’s significant termination of Administration for Community Living (ACL) staff and dissolution of offices critical to older Americans.
“Our organizations collectively represent thousands of community-based organizations that provide daily life-sustaining services to millions of older adults in nearly every urban, suburban and rural community across America.”
