Searcy(LP) Meals on Wheels is a community place that provides food for elderly, takes them to trips, food for pets etc. Meals on wheels in Searcy is also known as White County Aging Program. White County Aging Program faces a chance of budget cuts on their Meals on Wheels program by president Trumps budget recommendations. When Meals on Wheels and Senior Outreach Services modifies a home, it cuts the chances of a senior calling 9-1-1 for a fall by about 53 percent. When you get your visit usually twice a week the delivery person can deliver the food to your door, your kitchen, or wherever you prefer. The meals on wheels driver checks on the senior citizen, helps them if they need, and provides someone to talk to. Doing this helps prevents unnecessary falls and provides the senior citizen with the check up they need. Most senior citizens have falls that can hurt themselves badly, start food on the stove and forget, or eat old nasty food because they can’t go to the store themselves meals on wheels prevents all of these to a point.
According to www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org 1 in 6 seniors struggle with hunger in Arkansas there are approximately 641,099 seniors 159,313 are going hungry. Meals on wheels in Arkansas fed approximately 37,992 adding up to 3,550,939 meals served. That’s about one fourth of the hungry seniors in Arkansas. With more funding they could feed them all, however meals on wheels is facing budget cut threats due to president trumps “Skinny Budget”.
The “Skinny Budget” significantly increases defense spending while decreasing all other expenses the only other expense on Trumps mind is mediatory spending such as Medicaid and Medicare. Other expenses such as small groups like meals on wheels is being recommended to have their federal funding cut by over half. That one fourth of the seniors in Arkansas being fed now will drop by over half. Grandparents, Parents, Sisters, Brothers, and much more will starve. 9-1-1 calls on falling and unknown elderly deaths will increase, and the aid that meals on wheels provides won’t be able to travel to every elderly in need. A new budget being decided is to try to help people as greatly as possible while saving money for the country Trump believed the old plan was to accurate enough, but many say this budget doesn’t help either.
