Manatee Meals on Wheels faces funding gap

Every day, Lakewood Ranch’s Maribeth Phillips hears stories of how bringing hot meals to disabled and homebound seniors in Manatee County impacts the lives of the recipients and volunteers.

But Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, which operates The Food Bank of Manatee and the county’s Meals on Wheels program, among others, has reached a tipping point for its services.

The nonprofit has announced it no longer is accepting new clients who can’t afford to pay the $6 cost for the meal, and instead has created a referral process to ensure those clients gain assistance elsewhere.

“Our arms were open. We were very proud of that,” said Phillips, CEO of Meals on Wheels PLUS. “Creating a referral process is something we thought we would never have to do, but it will assist those in need of funding sources. We can serve as many people as can pay.”

New clients who can pay the $6 per meal will be added.

Over the past five years, Meals on Wheels PLUS has funded $1.4 million of client meals out of pocket, primarily through additional fundraisers and events.

Phillips said the efforts are not sustainable. The agency has seen a 40% increase in the demand for meals for homebound seniors over the past five years, while donations and pledges have decreased. 

Federal funding has decreased as well. For example, funding dropped $90,000 from 2012 to 2013, as a result of cuts associated with the 2011 Budget Control Act, and those dollars have not fully been recovered.

Phillips worries more cuts could be coming. President Donald Trump’s first budget proposal to congress in March identified budget cuts to hundreds of programs using the federal community development block grant program, a $3 billion program started in the Gerald Ford administration to help combat poverty.

Although many Meals on Wheels programs do not receive funding from the block grant, Manatee’s program does. Right now, that’s about $16,265 annually through the city of Bradenton. Overall, however, federal dollars account for 47.2%% of the $1.47 million Meals on Wheels budget, with the bulk of funds, about $541,000, from the Older Americans Act.

No potential cuts to the Older Americans Act have been announced, but Phillips worries they could be.

New clients who can’t pay for meals are now referred to the Elder Hotline, a program run by the nonprofit Senior Connection Center in Tampa. Senior Connection works on behalf of the Department of Elder Affairs.

Katie Parkinson, chief operating officer for the Senior Connection Center, said Manatee’s Meals on Wheels PLUS program is the last of the Meals on Wheels programs in the five counties it serves — Hillsborough, Manatee, Polk, Highland and Hardee — to implement a referral system.

Marjorie Broughton, executive director for Meals on Wheels of Sarasota, said her organization is facing similar pressures in terms of increased demand. It delivers about 500 meals per day to clients on 34 routes throughout sections of Sarasota County.

“We’re seeing an unprecedented demand for the meals,” Broughton said. “There’s going to be a breaking point here, as well.”

Sarasota’s program, which charges $4.50 per meal, accepts no governmental dollars for its $650,000 annual budget, but it does verify client incomes through its application process.

Manatee’s program can’t verify income in accordance with the Older Americans Act, which funded $541,000 of its budget in 2016.

Both Broughton and Phillips are unsure what has spurred the spike in demand, but speculate it relates to the retirement of baby boomers, the growth of the area, increased life expectancy and lost retirement income following the housing crash about a decade ago.

Phillips said Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee already has taken steps to cut expenses, and expects to announce more over the summer. It has suspended its Senior Wheels Taxi Service, which transported seniors to appointments, and is considering closing its gift and thrift shops.

Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee has instituted hiring and pay freezes.

The organization will run its Meals on Wheels program, The Food Bank of Manatee and the Daybreak Adult Day Center. All other programs that aren’t sustainable are open to cuts.

“We have been working to position ourselves to take care of Manatee County,” Phillips said.