Cuts could put a dent in C.O. Meals on Wheels program

The White House proposed last week to cut federal funding to dozens of social programs, including Meals on Wheels.

Marie Larsen and her husband live in La Pine and rely on a balanced meal that will help them get through their day.

“It’s just the convenience of having it that’s so important,” she said Tuesday.

It’s a hot meal that has benefited Diane Smith, who joined the program a couple of months ago.

“I would usually have one meal a day, and it would be a sandwich or something. But because of Meals on Wheels, I get to have a balanced meal,” Smith said.

According to the Council on Aging of Central Oregon, Meals on Wheels serves 675 seniors across Central Oregon and provides 75,000 meals a year.

Denise Goss is the La Pine Meals on Wheels coordinator and wakes up early to prepare over 200 meals three times a day for seniors living in the La Pine area.

She said for her volunteers, it’s not only delivering a meal, but interacting with the seniors as well.

“We are actually the only people sometimes they see that day or that week, especially if they’re homebound,” Goss said.

The block grants on the president’s chopping block account for about 3 percent of Meals on Wheels budget. Thirty-five percent of its funding comes from the Older Americans Act, which comes out of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the other 62 percent is funded by organizations like United Way and Meals on Wheels of America, and by private donations.

“The food banks can’t do it themselves. The community kitchen can’t do it by themselves, and every day it’s growing,” Goss said.

The Meals on Wheels program relies heavily on donations and funding.

If you would like to donate to Meals on Wheels give the Council on Aging of Central Oregon a call, or visit online to learn more.

Do you believe the federal government should reduce funding to meals on Wheels? That’s the question in our new KTVZ.COM Poll, halfway down the right side of our home page.