Avoyelles Council on Aging concerned about possible federal funding cuts

It is too early to worry about the fate of the Meals on Wheels program and other federal programs targeted by a White House budget proposal, but those who would be affected by those cuts are worrying.

“The sky is not falling,” said a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham, whose 5th District includes Avoyelles. “This is just the beginning of a very long process.”

Still, the budget cut threat has raised concerns among senior citizens and the Avoyelles Council on Aging.

While many senior citizens in Avoyelles look forward to the weekly visit of the Meals on Wheels van and the delivery of seven frozen meals for the next week, the 70-year-old senior citizen living on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., “doesn’t have to worry where his next meal is coming from,” ACOA Executive Director Sabrina Sonnier said.

“We are hoping it doesn’t get cut,” Sonnier said. “It would be bad. We’ve never had a cut from the federal level. We have had a few state cuts.”

If President Donald Trump’s proposals eliminated federal funds for the meals program, it would be a significant hit but not necessarily a lethal blow.

The national Meals on Wheels America said the 5,000 local community-run programs receive about 35 percent of their funding from the federal government. Sonnier said most of the council’s funding is through the state Governor’s Office of Elderly Affairs. The federal funds are provided under the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program and are administered by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).

1,000 MEALS A WEEK

In Avoyelles, over 1,000 meals a week -- between 4,000-5,000 a month -- are delivered to homebound senior citizens, ACOA Nutrition Director Gail Dupont said. “It is unreal that anyone would suggest cutting funding to that program. It serves our homebound seniors, who are among the most needy in our community. Without Meals on Wheels, many of these seniors would have very little money left if they had to buy their meals.”

Dupont said some senior citizens live in sad conditions on very small incomes.

“Many have medical conditions they have to take care of,” she said. “They may not have family or friends who are able to come by and check on them to make sure they are eating properly. This program is very important.”

The Meals on Wheels program is separate from the hot meal program at six senior center sites around the parish. Dupont said the Council on Aging serves about 120 meals a day at those sites, Monday-Friday.

The Meals on Wheels program delivers seven frozen meals to homebound seniors once a week. Deliveries in Marksville are on Monday. Mansura, Moreauville, Bordelonville and Simmesport seniors receive meals on Tuesday. The meals are delivered to Hessmer, Bunkie, Cottonport and Plaucheville on Wednesday.

Several senior citizens were at the Marksville Center when interviews for this article were taken. None of those currently use the Meals on Wheels program, but one has been served by the program and another used to deliver the meals to homebound seniors.

Norma Jacob, 77, of Marksville said she stopped working as a deliverer about seven years ago.

“Most people who get the meals delivered don’t have anyone to prepare them food,” Jacob said. “It is a very important program. Many senior citizens are not able to go out to eat or prepare their own meal or have someone that can prepare a meal for them.”

Joan Roberts, 73, of Center Point, said she used to receive Meals on Wheels but now comes to the senior center for lunch each day and no longer needs that service.

“It’s good for someone who cannot get around,” Roberts said. “Losing that program would be a bad thing to people who are more homebound that I am.”

John Ford, 65, of Marksville said he is able to drive to the center so he does not need Meals on Wheels.

“People need that food,” Ford said. “I don’t see how they can talk about cutting it. If I wasn’t able to come to the senior center, I would need the Meals on Wheels.”

Max Wiley, 82, of Marksville said that without Meals on Wheels “a lot of old people wouldn’t eat.”

He said he is still healthy enough to walk to the center for his meals, but he knows that could change and the Meals on Wheels program would be of great value to him then.

While Abraham’s office’s words of hope may help soothe some people’s worries, Sonnier is concerned about other proposed cuts that would affect the private non-profit organization and the estimated 6,000 senior citizens that participate in one or more of the programs it offers.

“The state was talking about significant cuts in Elderly Affairs during the special session,” Sonnier said. “That would have been devastating, but they put the money back in. Now there is talk that there may be cuts in the regular session. We will be participating in ‘Senior Day at the Capitol’ on May 10 to let legislators know that we don’t support any cuts to funding for those programs.”

On the federal level, Trump has also talked of making cuts in the senior commodities and senior citizen employment program, both of which are popular among the elderly in this parish.
So at this time, ACOA officials have one eye on Washington and one eye on Baton Rouge with their fingers crossed and hoping for the best.