Due to state and federal funding cuts, Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands is scaling back its meal delivery program for seniors to four days a week instead of the usual five.
That's according to Laura Roskos of Elder Services. She said the agency usually receives a block grant from the state, which the agency uses for the Meals-on-Wheels program.
“We had expected that money to be about $1.4 million,” she said. “And as of now [May 16], the state has only committed to giving us less than $300,000 of that. So, we're feeling some pinches in our nutrition program budget.”
Meals-on-Wheels currently delivers to its clients Monday through Friday. But on June 1, they will no longer be delivering on Tuesdays.
According to a letter that Elder Services sent out to Meals-on-Wheels volunteers, clients who have no other way of accessing food on Tuesdays may be able to receive frozen meals for that day. However, eligibility to receive those frozen meals will be decided on a case-by-case basis, the letter says.
“We are trying to be creative. We are trying to be forward thinking,” Roskos said. “We don't expect the next few years to be easy, but we are doing everything we can to make sure that we remain the agency that people can rely on.”
Roskos said the number of Meals-on-Wheels clients has been growing quickly.
“Since the pandemic, the lack of food security and people's need for nutritional supplements in order to stay healthy and at home—it just grows,” she said.
Meals-on-Wheels serves more than just seniors who face financial barriers to nutrition, Roskos said.
“There's a lot of reasons why someone might be determined eligible for this program,” she explained. “They may have problems fixing a meal. They may have problems getting food in the house to make that meal. They may be disinclined to eat.”
This is the second time this year that Elder Services has had to pull back some of its dining services due to funding cuts.
In February, cuts to a federal grant program led Elder Services to close some of its senior dining sites on the Cape. At these sites, seniors can access nutritious meals at no or low costs—the suggested donation is usually $4 per meal.
The senior dining sites in Mashpee and Barnstable closed on March 3. Senior dining services are still offered in Brewster, but less often than before.
In February, Roskos offered concerned seniors Meals-on-Wheels as an alternative. That would get them the food, she said, though that wouldn’t make up for the loss of the social aspect of the senior dining sites.
For more information about senior nutrition programs on the Cape and Islands, visit the Elder Services website or call 508-394-4630.
