An organization that delivers meals to seniors, started a wait list in January after the number of older adults wanting to be part of the Meals & Wheels program increased.
According to Meals & Wheels Director of Client Services Laura Ziemer, the number of seniors on the wait list since the beginning of the year has increased from 50 to 87.
"I think it's a combination an increase in the population of folks over the age of 60 and also the need in the community is high,” Ziemer said.
According to Ziemer, the organization had to create a wait list because the current funding is not enough to add new clients. Currently, she said Meals on Wheels gets less than half of its funds from the federal government and the rest from members of the community.
"We had to create a waiting list because even with our current funding we don't have enough funds to add new clients," Ziemer said. " It's heartbreaking we can't help them right now."
Currently, the program serves 800 meals a day in McLennan, Falls and Hill counties.
Bertha Jones is one of the clients that gets her meals delivered to her home in Waco.
"They're very nice people. They're very kind and thoughtful," Jones said. "They come and they deliver the food. They ask me if I want them to bring them in. I meet them at the door or can they help me do anything else."
She said without the organization, she wouldn't be able to get meals prepared every day.
"Sometimes, I probably wouldn't have anything if they didn't come out. I depend on them to come out," Jones said.
This organization is also at risk of losing funding under President Donald Trump's preliminary outline for the 2018 budget.
"It's hard to say how we would be affected because we don't know the details of the budget cuts and what that would look like for us. So we are just watching it really closely, trying to raise awareness about the importance of our program and making sure our local officials know how important it is," Ziemer said. That's what we are focusing on right now."
She said if they get enough funds, they can get people off the wait list.
A donation of $35 helps serve one adult for a week.
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