Federal funding cuts are forcing Houston-area Meals on Wheels programs to scale back services, putting hundreds of seniors at risk of food insecurity. IM Houston and Fort Bend Seniors both report losing hundreds of thousands in federal support.
Two local Meals on Wheels programs lost substantial government funding this month, which means hundreds of seniors in the Houston area may soon be unable to get enough food.
After losing $500,000 in October, IM Houston (formerly Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston) says it cannot make Meals on Wheels deliveries in Harris and Galveston counties. Officials say the cuts will affect more than 300 seniors and put at risk the food delivery services that help some of the most needy people in the region.
Chief program officer for IM Houston, Ali Al Sudan, said, "It is not right on all levels." Really, it is not right. Ethically, it is wrong.
About 6,000 people get help from the group every year, and they said the $300,000 loss for Harris County and the $200,000 loss for Galveston County came as a surprise. Sudani said the shortfall isn't due to the current government shutdown, which is impacting other food programs.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that millions of Americans, including 3.5 million Texans, would not get their November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments on time. Since then, the USDA has said that money for November payments "has run out."
The cuts have made things harder for neighborhood groups that help people get food. Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels, which serves people in the southwest Houston area, said Monday it will also lose more than 50% of its government funding, resulting in about 68,000 fewer meals next year.
Doug Simpson, executive director of Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels, said, "This was a tough choice." "We are doing everything we can to keep providing services to the seniors who depend on us right now." As we work to rebuild our support base, we can keep serving everyone by cutting the number of meals we serve each week from seven to five.
IM To keep deliveries from going down, Houston is trying to get private donors, community foundations, and city officials to help. Sudani said that the nonprofit is telling clients and their families to get help from their political officials.
Businesses in the area have started to help. The Texas grocery store group H-E-B recently said it would give $5 million to food banks across the state, with $1 million going to Meals on Wheels programs.
For many clients, the service is more than just food; it gives them daily safety checks and meaningful social contact.
Suleiman said, "We cannotcan not let this happen to our seniors." "This is not good enough for them."
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