Meals on Wheels Braces for Cuts

Meals on Wheels of San Francisco is bracing for possible cuts now that President Donald Trump has released his proposed budget, but the chief executive officer stressed that clients should not panic.

Ashley McCumber, a gay man who heads Meals on Wheels of San Francisco and is the board chair of Meals on Wheels America, told the Bay Area Reporter that they were not surprised by Trump's budget plan, which the president announced last week. In it, Trump called for massive cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, including the Community Development Block Grant program.

The block grants are provided to states and municipalities, which then use the money to help fund a variety of services operated by nonprofits such as after-school programs and some senior food programs. Millions of people in every state would be affected if the block grants are cut. Congress ultimately approves the federal budget, and the president provided his budget "blueprint" as he seeks to increase military funding and cut domestic expenditures.

"We were not overwhelmingly surprised," McCumber said of Trump's budget plan. "Right now, we don't know much."

McCumber also said that the bulk of Meals on Wheels of San Francisco funding comes not from the block grants, but from the Older Americans Act, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. If Congress cuts that funding, it would be "devastating," he said.

"If an 18 percent cut to the Older Americans Act takes place that would be devastating to senior meal programs everywhere," he said.

Meals on Wheels of San Francisco has an annual budget of just over $13 million, McCumber said. No block grant money is used, but the agency receives about half its funding from the government, and about half from fundraising. About 35 percent of the budget comes from OAA funds, he explained.

In a statement, Meals on Wheels America said that some local programs rely on the block grant funds.

"Details on our network's primary source of funding, the Older Americans Act, which has supported senior nutrition programs for 45 years, have not yet been released," said a statement issued by Meals on Wheels America March 16.

The agency said it feared "millions of seniors who rely on us every day for a nutritious meal, safety check, and visit from a volunteer will be left behind" if there are cuts to OAA.

"The best thing to take solace in is that OAA has never been a partisan issue," McCumber said. "There's some reason to hope it continues to be bipartisan."

But McCumber said that across the country, it's important for people to understand that the loss of block grant funding for some Meals on Wheels agencies would be a significant problem in those communities.

"These services have impact, these programs work," he said.

He also pointed out that other Bay Area communities, such as Alameda County, "are behind the curve" when it comes to funding Meals on Wheels programs.

"It's not equal everywhere," he said.

Meals on Wheels of San Francisco serves about 3,600 clients in all programs. About 10 percent of its clients are under age 60. In a partnership with the city and the local food bank, about 250 people per week utilize Meals on Wheels' home-delivered grocery program. The rest have meals delivered.

McCumber said that 8 percent of the agency's clients self-identify as LGBT, but he puts the figure higher, probably at about 15 percent.

One of those is Bernie Granda, a gay man who has been a Meals on Wheels of San Francisco client for three years. Granda, 90, said he has arthritis and can't climb down the stairs of his home.

"It's excellent," he told the B.A.R. in a phone interview last week. "I have nothing but praise. The deliverymen come in and put the food in the freezer and say 'Hi.'"

Granda, who retired from Bank of America, has lived in the city for 45 years.

McCumber said that clients have been contacting the agency since Trump's proposed budget cuts were announced.

"I was on CNN last night," McCumber said March 17, "as a person who doesn't want to scare seniors. I don't want to tell seniors they're not going to get a meal."

"Clearly, people are alarmed," he added.

To donate to Meals on Wheels of San Francisco, visit http://www.mowsf.org