CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Meals on Wheels is hitting a bump in the road as pandemic era federal funds will run out at the end of the month, leaving many programs in a bad spot.
“We found out earlier this year that we can no longer rely on federal funding for about 120 Meals on Wheels participants here in Chesapeake,” said Meals on Wheels Chesapeake Executive Director Megan Mann.
The end of the American Rescue Plan, she explained, will cut $15,000 a month from the program’s budget. Money used to provide meals for about 120 of the 200 Chesapeake seniors who participate in the program. That includes 77-year-old Evelyn Stevens.
“I’m almost terminal, and when I’m not feeling good, like I say, when I can’t get to the door, I don’t have to worry about whether I’m gonna eat or not,” Stevens said.
Meals on Wheels provides participants with two meals a day, one hot and one cold. Each meal is low sodium and balanced to serve medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
“So, they play a really important role in preventing malnutrition in that vulnerable population,” said Clinical Nutrition Manager Kelly Kavetski.
The population has been growing due to inflation, as many seniors on a fixed income are finding it more difficult to afford groceries along with increasing rents and medication costs.
Meals on Wheels, however, is about more than food.
“A lot of them are socially isolated,” Mann said. “They don’t see anybody for a week or more.”
Beth Sholom Village stroked a $40,000 check to help. The city of Chesapeake and other organizations are also stepping up. Mann is calling on others to offer donations and grants.
“We just really need as many helpers as we can get,” Mann said.
Donors make a difference to Stevens, and it also gives her and others the peace of mind that comes with knowing where their next meal is coming from.
The cut in funding is not just a Chesapeake problem. Meals on Wheels programs across Hampton Roads and across the country will lose the pandemic era federal funding at the end of the month.
