Not so much, these days.
"Elderly, home-bound, and hungry? We can put you on a waiting list and maybe sometime we'll bring you a hot meal." This is not actually the mission statement of Meals on Wheels, but thanks to sequestration, it's becoming the reality. The Meals on Wheels Association of America surveyed its member programs about the effect of sequestration on their ability to provide meals, and the results spell out
a lot of hungry seniors:
- Programs have been forced to cut, on average, 364 meals per week;
- Over 70% are establishing or adding to existing waiting lists;
- Programs have increased their waiting lists on average by 58 seniors;
- 40% of programs responding have eliminated staff positions; and
- One in six are closing congregate meals sites or home-delivered meal programs
Over all, nutrition programs for seniors are losing $41 million in funding, as much as 19 million meals. All because Republicans preferred to cut nearly everything rather than raising some revenue from big corporations and the wealthiest people.