ARLINGTON, Va., January 21, 2025 – Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander today issued the following statement regarding the possible elimination of the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) program as one of the federal spending cut options recently circulated among House Budget Committee Members.
Meals on Wheels America is deeply concerned about proposed spending cuts that, if enacted, would have a devastating impact on vulnerable older adults who rely on Meals on Wheels providers funded by the SSBG program for nutrition and other services. Many community-based Meals on Wheels providers depend on SSBG funding to bridge the growing shortfalls in other funding sources that have not kept pace with the growing population of older adults in need and rising operational costs. The menu of cost-saving measures reportedly circulated by House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) also included significant cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that would harmfully impact older Americans.
In 2024, Meals on Wheels providers in 37 states relied on SSBG funds to deliver nutritious meals and social connection to older adults. For some providers, SSBG funds are the only federal support they receive and the single largest funding source that enables them to serve older adults and individuals with disabilities in their communities. For example, Meals on Wheels Plus, Inc., which serves 1,738 clients in Abilene, TX and an additional 14 small rural communities across five counties in central Texas, depends on SSBG funds for nearly half of its total budget. This organization does not receive any other federal dollars and experienced a significant funding shortfall last year, with SSBG funds covering meals for only one thousand of their clients - leaving three hundred individuals on a waitlist to receive critical services. Elimination of SSBG funding would not only be catastrophic for Meals on Wheels Plus and the older adults they serve, but for impacted Meals on Wheels providers across the country.
It is worth noting that SSBG funds support other vital community programs that benefit older adults, such as day care, foster care services and protective services. While the SSBG program is one of the smallest expenditures on the list of options for spending cuts, it is an effective program that makes an enormous difference in the lives of the people it serves. Eliminating or cutting the SSBG program would mean that more older adults may be hospitalized or put into nursing homes – at significantly greater cost to the federal government – because they are not getting the nutrition and human connection they need to remain healthy at home.
Meals on Wheels is a valuable public-private partnership that, through a relatively modest federal investment, stands out as a proven and effective solution to senior hunger and social isolation that reduces other long-term governmental costs. Though annual appropriations for the Older Americans Act (OAA) Nutrition Program provide the primary federal funding for the Meals on Wheels network, other state and local sources and federal block grants like the SSBG provide additional funding that helps fill resource gaps for local providers. At a time when federal funding for the OAA Nutrition Program has not kept pace with either growing need or rising costs, eliminating SSBG funds would put further strain on community-based organizations that are already stretched too thin. This would directly compound existing challenges around unmet need and could force some organizations to introduce or expand waitlists or even shutter operations altogether. We cannot keep asking Meals on Wheels providers to do more with less. The devastating impact on vulnerable older adults and ramifications for our nation are of grave concern.
Now is the time to End the Wait™ by tackling growing wait lists for meals and services and ensuring that every senior who needs Meals on Wheels gets it. Meals on Wheels America urges Congress and the Administration to reject any proposal that includes the elimination of or cuts to the SSBG program, or any other program that contributes to the health and well-being of America’s seniors. In fact, if anything, we should be boosting them in the effort to Make America Healthy Again.
ABOUT MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA
Meals on Wheels America is the leadership organization supporting the more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country that are dedicated to addressing senior hunger and isolation. This network serves virtually every community in America and, along with more than two million staff and volunteers, delivers the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks that enable America’s seniors to live nourished lives with independence and dignity. Through funding, leadership, education, research and advocacy, Meals on Wheels America empowers its local member programs to strengthen their communities, one senior at a time. For more information, or to find a Meals on Wheels provider near you, visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org.