Spectrum Services Urges Congress to Protect Meals on Wheels
Spectrum Community Services joins local Meals on Wheels programs from across the country in calling upon Congress to #SaveLunch for millions of American seniors at a time when key hunger relief and nutrition programs are being threatened. The organization is urging Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler to protect and increase funding for Senior Meals and Meals on Wheels services and is asking everyone to take action by visiting www.SaveLunch.org, where you can easily send Congress a direct message about this.
Federal funding accounts for 73% of Spectrum’s senior nutrition programs’ annual budget, but it has neither kept pace with inflation nor the rapid growth in America’s senior population. The increased living wage, along with rising food and transportation expenses, has placed strains on our services. Despite these challenges, we managed to deliver 156,200 meals to 2,392 seniors in 2023. Cuts of any kind will cause a waitlist for eligible seniors Spectrum Community Services is able to serve and those desperately in need of this lifeline.
“As seniors are the fastest growing age group in America and the pandemic funding is depleted, we see evidence around us of the devastating impacts lower support levels can have on the seniors in our community,” said Lara Calvert, Executive Director of Spectrum Community Services. “After more than three years of extra support for social isolation, and food, it is imperative that Congress acts now to preserve seniors’ lifelines and prevent taking vulnerable seniors off of services, by supporting Meals on Wheels funding.”
Underscoring the importance of federal funding for these programs, a newly released report, “The Case for Meals on Wheels: An Evidence-Based Solution to Senior Hunger and Isolation,” highlights a set of consistent findings that Meals on Wheels programs improve senior health, safety, social connection and more while saving money. Meals on Wheels America – the leadership organization supporting the network of more than 5,000 community-based
programs across the country that are dedicated to addressing senior hunger and isolation – analyzed 38 studies, spanning from 1996 to 2023. The studies consistently reported that Meals on Wheels programs reduce health care utilization and costs, falls, nursing home use, social isolation and loneliness and improve seniors’ ability to age in place, food security, diet quality and nutritional status.
“Meals on Wheels is a proven solution to a problem that is far too common: seniors dealing with hunger and isolation during their struggle to stay independent and healthy at home, where they want to be,” said Ellie Hollander, President and CEO at Meals on Wheels America. “But local programs can only reach their full potential if funding is increased to keep pace with inflation and need. Funding cuts put millions of American seniors in danger and merely maintaining current funding levels isn’t enough, given the existing gap between those Meals on Wheels can serve and those desperately in need.”
During the week of March 18 through 22, Spectrum Community Services will participate in Community Champions Week as a part of the #SaveLunch campaign where local “champions” are invited to visit our senior meal sites or ride along on our Meals on Wheels delivery routes. These “champions” include local city council, officials, civil servants, and other prominent community figures to help prepare and deliver meals, meet our clients and volunteers, and help raise awareness about the nutritional and social needs of seniors. To see our Champions Week schedule for site visits and ride alongs, see Page 3 and 4.
To learn more about how Meals on Wheels opens the door to addressing social connection and safety through the delivery of healthy meals tailored to the needs of older adults, visit www.MealsOnWheelsAmerica.org or www.SpectrumCS.org. To learn more about #SaveLunch and the ways you can take action, visit www.SaveLunch.org.
About Spectrum Community Services
A nonprofit organization committed to improving the health and safety of seniors and residents experiencing low income in Alameda County, Spectrum Community Services enhances their quality of life and helps them age at home with dignity through four programs for seniors and three utility assistance programs. Senior nutrition programs provide home-delivered meals in Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, and Sunol, and in-person or take-away meals in Hayward, Castro Valley, San Leandro, Alameda, Oakland, and Union City. The Fall Prevention Program seeks to reduce injuries among at-risk low-income seniors; and the new Connect Program of friendly wellness check-ins to combat social isolation. Serving households experiencing low-income, Spectrum Community Services administers the federally-funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), Low Income Household Water Assistance (LIHWAP), and Weatherization programs.
About Meals on Wheels America
Meals on Wheels America is the leadership organization supporting more than 5,000 community-based programs nationwide that are dedicated to addressing senior hunger and isolation. Powered by a dedicated volunteer workforce, this network delivers a comprehensive solution that begins with a meal and is proven to enable independence and well-being through the additional benefits of tailored nutrition, social connection, safety and more. By providing funding, programming, education, research and advocacy, Meals on Wheels America empowers its local member programs to strengthen their communities, one senior at a time.