Meals on Wheels in the Brazos Valley is making up a shortfall topping $12,000 each month between what the state reimburses for a meal and what it now costs to cook and deliver one, the program's director told KBTX on Thursday.
The state pays $6.46 for each meal, covering production and delivery. Rising prices for groceries, packaging and gasoline, along with upkeep on delivery vehicles, have left the program about $1.25 short on every meal, according to the KBTX report. With volunteers delivering roughly 10,000 meals a month across Brazos, Grimes, Burleson and Robertson counties, the program is absorbing that difference itself.
"The price of food has gone up," Director Ken Barnes told the station, adding that fuel and car maintenance costs have risen too.
Kitchen project
Barnes also said the program's kitchen, which he described as being as old as the building it sits in, needs a renovation and expansion estimated at $240,000. He said new equipment would let staff prepare meals in larger batches and ahead of time with better quality control.
The program took part in this month's Brazos Valley Gives online giving day, where it raised $11,580 against a $10,000 goal, according to KBTX. That money is going toward operations and the renovation.
How to help
Meals on Wheels is run by Brazos Valley Community Action Programs. Its online donation page, hosted by the Brazos Valley Council of Governments, lists a monthly senior meal sponsorship of $120, which covers five meals a week for one senior, or a yearly sponsorship of $1,400. Donations of any amount are accepted there, and recurring gifts can be set up.
