Senior home delivered meals, and an obvious funding shortfall, continue to be a major topic in south western Kentucky.
During Monday’s Pennyrile Area Development District meeting, Aging and Independent Living Director Amanda Stokes confirmed a lengthy timeline of events that should offer some clarity on where this nine-county region is headed as far as the programming is concerned.
On July 22, she noted Governor Andy Beshear announced $4 million of the state’s recent surplus would be moved to these plans across the 16 ADDs, meaning PeADD received $405,000.
This, she said, trimmed a local $1.7 million deficit to $1.3 million, in terms of fully funding efforts.
On July 23, PeADD officials convened an executive committee meeting, in order to discuss the path ahead, where:
+ They decided to delay any changes to the home delivered meals service for 30 days, in order to determine best use of the new funds.
+ They decided to continue serving clients with the “highest level of need,” while exploring options to “potentially serve more individuals with lesser needs, once the funding impact” was further assessed.
Fast forward to the present, where more than 690 regional seniors are still receiving meals.
As such, Stokes said some decisions have been made about how best to proceed.
Suspension does not mean termination, and a small sector will qualify for drop-shipped “Mom’s Meals” from Iowa.
These letters, Stokes said, contain a plethora of pertinent information.
Stokes noted the goal is to “remain committed” to the process, while “maximizing” all resourcing and fundability, and that conversations continue with regional and state legislators — who over the next few weeks may be able to provide more financial and logistical support.
As of Sunday, August 9, more than 245 seniors were on the waiting list for home delivered meals, led by Christian (83), Hopkins (54), Muhlenberg (42) and Trigg (23) counties.
