March 19, 2009
STATEWIDE--Vice President Joe Biden announced March 19th that the federal Department of Health and Human Services will award $100 million in Recovery Act funding to provide meals to tens of thousands of low-income older Americans in need. The funding is expected to provide nearly 14 million meals nationwide.
According to Mass Home Care, which represents many of the agencies which provide elderly meals program at meal sites and in home-delivered settings, the Massachusetts share of the nutrition funding will come to just over $2 million, of which $1.4 million will go to congregate mealsites, and $690,000 for Meals on Wheels, for a total of $2.094 million in nutrition funds. In federal fiscal year 2008, the Commonwealth provided a total of $8.8 million meals, of which 1.8 million were at congregate mealsites, and 7 million were home delivered.
“Just as individual seniors are scrambling to find the necessary resources to pay for their food, state programs are scrambling to find funding to keep up with demand for nutrition help,” said Al Norman, Executive Director of Mass Home Care. Norman said that demand for home-delivered meals has been rising the fastest, with 19,243 meals on wheels being delivered on an average day in Massachusetts.
Norman said the new funds should be available immediately, and no time period is required for spending the funds. Norman estimated the new federal funds would purchase close to 346,000 additional meals.
In making the announcement about the added nutrition funding, Vice President Biden said, “Across the country, older Americans depend on senior centers and home delivery programs for regular, healthy meals. Today, more senior citizens are in need, but the programs they depend on are on the brink of reducing their services or closing down. The Recovery Act will help ensure older Americans are not forced to choose between paying bills and buying food.” Biden credited Senator Ted Kennedy as the original author of nutrition programs under the federal Older Americans Act law of 1965.
Norman noted that under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, Massachusetts will also receive:
- Over $3 billion in supplemental Medicaid funding during state fiscal years 2009, 2010 and 2011.
- $317 million in new food stamp funds for a total of 575,000 food stamp beneficiaries from 2009 to 2013.
- A total of 1,226,000 people will get a supplemental $250 payment from the Social Security Administration, for a total benefit of $306.5 million coming into the state.