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Senior nutrition program struggles with growing wait list; commissioners decline short-term lapsed-salary funding
Summary
Union County senior nutrition staff reported a wait list of about 590 people and described outreach and partner-seeking efforts; a staff proposal to use roughly $68,000 in lapsed-salary funds to feed 10 additional clients now and seek $258,000 in next year’s budget was not supported by commissioners, staff said.
Senior nutrition staff told the advisory board they are working through a growing waiting list and seeking partners and grants to expand Meals on Wheels services after one-time county funding was not approved.
Stephanie Starr, the Community Support and Outreach director, told the board the department "currently have[s] 590 on the wait list. We started with 608. We added 25, and we took 43 off." She described a multi-step outreach effort that had contacted 76 seniors and removed 43 from the wait list after verification; 28 people remained completely unreachable and about 40 were in the process of verification.
Starr described the operational constraints: warm meals rose in cost by about 34 percent this year and staffing for outreach is limited. Volunteers deliver meals; sites are often hosted at local churches. Starr said the program is required to meet nutrition standards for reimbursable meals (for example, a specified caloric and nutritional profile) and that vendors must meet USDA and program rules.
Partnership and funding efforts: Starr and other staff described outreach to multiple potential partners. Wesley Chapel has agreed to fund service for three wait-list clients. Staff also contacted organizations tied to Atrium Health; a local executive involved with an organization called Nourish Up (formerly Loaves and Fishes) is exploring options; and "Food for Families" and other community partners were discussed as potential sources of groceries or supplemental support. Starr said some partners provide groceries rather than prepared meals, which would require a triage of recipients who can prepare meals themselves.
Unfunded one-time proposal: County staff reported they had proposed using approximately $68,000 in lapsed salaries (unexpended salary funds) to feed 10 additional clients immediately, with the commissioners asked to commit about $258,000 in next fiscal year funding to sustain the added service. That motion was not supported by commissioners, staff said.
Why it matters: Board members and staff emphasized the program helps seniors stay in their homes by ensuring daily nutrition; board members said the need is growing and that current county funding and one-time options were insufficient to eliminate the wait list.
Ending: Staff said they will continue outreach to charitable partners and foundations, pursue grant opportunities and refine expansion options as they prepare FY26 service-level requests for the county budget process.
