This program [Meals on Wheels] provides some 220 million meals to more than 2 million seniors a year. Yet, Budget Director Mulvaney dismissed the efficacy of Meals on Wheels, saying it ‘sounds great’ but 'we’re not going to spend [money] on programs that cannot show how that they actually deliver the promises that we’ve made to people.’
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#politics #budget #nutrition #meals on wheels #seniors #elderly #healthcare #p2 #older americans #mick mulvaney #OMB![At a press conference last year, President Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, infamously declared, “Meals on Wheels sounds great, [but] we’re not going to spend [money] on programs that cannot show that they actually deliver the promises that...](https://64.media.tumblr.com/20ee87f23e041961e94c02c51a2ac3ac/tumblr_p7nkriQVPh1qd3gmvo1_1280.png)
At a press conference last year, President Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, infamously declared, “Meals on Wheels sounds great, [but] we’re not going to spend [money] on programs that cannot show that they actually deliver the promises that we’ve made to people.” Not surprisingly, the first two budget proposals Mulvaney crafted for the president would have eliminated the block grants that help to pay for Meals on Wheels.
Apparently, Mulvaney has had no personal experience with delivering meals to seniors who are unable to shop or cook safely. Shortly after Mulvaney made his ill-informed statement, my boss, National Committee president Max Richtman, suggested that President Trump “ride with a Meals on Wheels van and witness the profound benefits to our nation’s most vulnerable seniors.”
I can proudly say that I have done something the President and his budget director clearly have not. This month, I rode along with my father, Cliff Adcock, on his route as a Meals on Wheels volunteer in Escondido, California. As a public policy wonk, I have always appreciated the Meals on Wheels program – first as a Congressional staffer on a committee that oversaw the Older Americans Act (which includes Meals on Wheels), then, as an advocate for seniors during the past 24 years. In 1992, I helped write the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, which at the time enjoyed broad, bipartisan support. My recent ride-along taught me that understanding policy is one thing – but on-the-ground experience with the program is altogether different.
I wish every member of Congress, the President, and Mick Mulvaney would ride-along with the Meals on Wheels van before considering cutting a single penny from the program. Who knows? A hug from a grateful senior might just melt their hearts – or at least compel them to put away the budget axes they’ve been sharpening.
We’re celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Older Americans Act that was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 to provide much-needed services, like Meals on Wheels, to our seniors.
Learn more at www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/agenda.via Meals on Wheels.
The Older Americans Act (OAA), originally enacted in 1965, supports a
range of home and community-based services, such as meals-on-wheels and
other nutrition programs, in-home services, transportation, legal
services, elder abuse prevention and caregivers support. These programs
help seniors stay as independent as possible in their homes and
communities. In addition, OAA services help seniors avoid
hospitalization and nursing home care, and, as a result, save federal
and state funds that otherwise would be spent on such care.
Meals on Wheels is undergoing a dramatic overhaul as government and philanthropic funding fails to keep pace with a rapidly growing elderly population. The increased demand has resulted in lengthy waitlists and a need to find other sources of funding. And at the same time, for-profit companies such as Mom’s Meals are creating more competition.
Meals on Wheels, which has served seniors for more than 60 years through a network of independent nonprofits, is trying to formalize the health and safety checks its volunteers already conduct during their daily home visits to seniors. Through an ongoing campaign dubbed “More Than a Meal,” the organization hopes to demonstrate that it can play a critical role in the health care system.
via Kaiser Health News.
Here’s a great infographic from Meals on Wheels concerning the impact of meals for seniors.
Related Reading:
Meals on Wheels programs help keep our seniors healthier, safer and living in their own homes.
Learn how we deliver so much more than a meal at: www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/MTAM
Related Reading:
A6: #MealsonWheels is serving 21M fewer meals today than in 2005. #WeAreOAA
via Meals on Wheels.
Recently, Dan Adcock (NCPSSM Legislative Director) and his father delivered Meals on Wheels to the elderly. Do you agree with Dan?
(Photograph: Dan Adcock’s father waits to deliver hot meals to seniors in Escondido, CA)
Investment in home and community-based care is popular and must be included in #infrastructure. Now it’s up to Congress to get it done. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/04/opinion/elder-care-congress.html #HCBS @nytimes