Last year, Robb Center staff and volunteers prepared and delivered 25,628 meals to 162 seniors in Andover as part of the Town’s Meals on Wheels program.
But Trump administration cuts in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services left local Meals on Wheels programs across the country facing uncertainty.
“It is on a lot of minds,” Andover Elder Services Director Jane Burns said. “At this time, the town’s Meals on Wheels Program has not been impacted, but we continue to monitor any potential impacts to the program.”
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s overhaul of HHS includes dismantling the Administration for Community Living, a small government agency that oversees Meals of Wheels at the federal level. While some funding is expected to continue through the end of the federal government’s fiscal year in September, agencies like Andover Elder Services are unsure of what will happen if the funding is cut.
The program, which delivers meals to elderly and disabled people who can’t prepare their own meals, goes beyond nutritional well-being. Drivers often visit with clients and conduct safety checks. Last year, Andover’s Meals on Wheels program broke even.
Burns said salaries and overhead, as well as a portion of the food costs, are paid for through the Town’s budget. The federal money passes through AgeSpan, which runs elder service programs serving all of northeastern Massachusetts. AgeSpan reimburses Andover Elder Services for food costs not covered by the Town. The rest of the program’s funding comes through donations.