1 week Ago By Alex McCollum NonStop Local Multimedia Journalist
BOZEMAN, Mont. – “Sometimes these people are the only ones that see us, and they depend on good food that you get from the Meals on Wheels here,” said Pat Ferkin, a volunteer for the Meals on Wheels program, run by the Bozeman Senior Center. Right now, the senior c enter is adapting its budget for its Meals on Wheels and congregate meals programs due to funding changes at the state and federal le vel.
The State of Montana allocates funds for these programs through the Older Americans Act , which has stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Additionally, the distribution formula at the state level is changing. “We have been told already that we most likely will not get a March payment because our grants are distributed on a monthly basis,” said Shannon Bondy, Bozeman Senior Center executive director. To manage the uncertainty, the center has made some adjustments, including cutting work hours, kitchen hours, and removing some positions they did not previously have, she said.
The requested donation for Meals on Wheels has increased from $5 to $7. Another funding source for the center is the 2 nd Hand Rose thrift store, which the senior center runs. “We have a certain percentage of proceeds from that store that that we are giving to Meals on Wheels every month.
The board voted to do that to help. And that's a significant amount of help for that program as well,” Bondy said. Last year, the senior center served 22,000 congregate meals onsite.
The Meals on Wheels program delivered 33,000 meals in Bozeman, Three Forks and West Yellowstone. To qualify for Meals on Wheels, recipients must be housebound . "68% of our Meals on Wheels [recipients] pay zero.
They cannot afford to pay anything. And so that's a significant amount of money that we have to find on our end to keep supporting those meals seven days a week," Bondy said. "68% of our Meals on Wheels [recipients] pay zero.
They cannot afford to pay anything. And so that's a significant amount of money that we have to find on our end to keep supporting those meals seven days a week," Bondy said. Douglas and Pat Ferkin have volunteered for Meals on Wheels distribution for several years, and witness firstha nd how necessary the service is.
“We're used to going out there and meeting people, and we feel that, also, it's a welfare check to make sure that they're okay," Pat said. Despite the unclear future of meal plan funding, Bondy assured that the Bozeman Senior Center remains economically viable and committed to providing programs for those in need within the community..
