DJT Decimates Meals on Wheels

Donald Trump’s regime eviscerated the Administration for Community Living, jeopardizing the well-known Meals on Wheels program that delivers meals to people who are elderly, disabled or have mobility problems.

ACL oversees senior nutrition and other aging programs. Half the staff of the agency have been fired. All 10 regional offices that oversee Meals on Wheels have been closed. Most ACL programs are being shifted to either the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Administration for Children and Families or the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Those that remain in ACL are likely to be either severely reduced or wiped out. It is not clear what will happen to Meals on Wheels.

Meals on Wheels was established more than 50 years ago by the Older Americans Act. Last year it delivered more than 250 million meals. Its volunteers are often the only human contact for the person to whom they deliver, so their meal drop-offs also serve as a safety and wellness check. Meals on Wheels also helps connect the people it serves with other social services they need.

Older Americans Act money constitutes 37% of the Meals on Wheels budget. The remainder comes from private donors, city/state funding, and other federal funding programs. A year of Meals on Wheels for a person is similar in cost to one day in a hospital or 10 days in a nursing home.

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