Santa Cruz resident Phylois Norman signed up for Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County 15 years ago after learning about the program from her neighbor, Anita. Homebound and in a wheelchair, Phylois relies on Meals on Wheels because her apartment stove is too high for her to cook. Without their assistance, she wouldn’t be able to eat and would be largely isolated.
The dedicated staff and volunteer drivers are often among the few people she sees each week.
One of the drivers, Bob, always puts my meals away because reaching up hurts my shoulders. I just love him. He is so sweet. This team cares for me, and I really need them. I couldn’t make it without them. – Phylois Norman
Since its inception in 1976, Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County has been dedicated to improving the lives of local older adults and their families through nutrition, resources, advocacy, and connection. By providing nutritious meals and regular wellness checks, we help combat hunger and isolation. We are proud to offer these crucial services to our community, ensuring people can live with dignity and independence in their homes.
The impact of this program on thousands of older adults in our community is undeniable. Locally, 92% of participants say it helps them live independently, 87% feel safer at home, and 79% report eating healthier foods. Nationally, Meals on Wheels recipients experience reduced use of costly healthcare services and nursing homes, lowered healthcare costs, decreased nutritional risk, and lessened social isolation and loneliness. The program also enhances home safety, food security, and diet quality.
However, the demand for our services locally is growing faster than our current funding can sustain. We served 1,737 clients in the most recent fiscal year, 429 more than the previous year. We provided 155,702 home-delivered meals and 23,042 meals at our dining sites last year. With 1,000 Californians turning 65 every day for the next decade, and the population of older adults growing faster in Santa Cruz County than any other region in the state, we expect demand to continue rising.
Simultaneously, the rising costs of operations, the uncertainty surrounding our headquarters’ future, and stagnant and shifting government funding at federal, state, and local levels are producing a six-figure deficit that we cannot address without hurting seniors. For the first time in nearly five decades, we are considering the difficult decision to implement a waitlist for Meals on Wheels services, joining the two-thirds of programs across the state that already have one.
FUNDING AT A GLANCE
Although Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County receives funding from all levels of government, local donations are our largest funding source. Donations, including gifts, events, and client contributions, make up 31.9% of our operating budget. The remaining funds come from federal (25.6%), state (21.1%), county (17.4%), and city (3.9%) governments.
Your generosity has allowed us to meet the growing needs of our community, but government funding has not kept pace.
At the federal level, the Older Americans Act (OAA), which funds senior programs like Meals on Wheels, this fiscal year saw a 0.3% decrease from the previous year. Pre-COVID federal funding for senior programs like Meals on Wheels increased by only 10% over 35 years, while U.S. inflation rose by over 160%. This depreciation has a trickle-down effect, leaving California’s local senior program funders, like the Seniors Council of Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties, with only 32% of their buying power from 40 years ago.
Additionally, funding from state, county, and city governments is not guaranteed on a rolling basis. While we are proud to have strong relationships with the cities of Watsonville, Capitola, Scotts Valley, and Santa Cruz to provide meals in those municipalities, the County’s new grant process, known as CORE (Collective of Results and Evidence-based) Investments, has put roughly half a million dollars of local support in jeopardy.
The outcome of the upcoming CORE funding allocations will significantly impact our program’s ability to meet the growing needs of our community’s older adults.
OUR CHALLENGES
Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County is navigating a series of unprecedented challenges that threaten our ability to serve the growing population of older adults in our community.
Rising Costs of Operations
The soaring costs of food and gas have significantly strained our operations. Since the federal election in November 2020, food prices have surged by 25.8%. A basket of groceries that cost $100 in 2020 now costs nearly $126. While the current annual food inflation rate of 2.2% for March 2024 is lower than the peak of 11.4% in August 2022, it doesn’t offset the steep price increases we’ve faced over the past few years.
This sharp rise in food costs has a direct impact on our ability to provide meals to the increasing number of seniors relying on our services.
Simultaneously, the fluctuating price of gasoline has added another layer of difficulty. Despite some recent declines, gas prices were still 35.9% higher in June 2024 than in January 2020. These costs are particularly challenging as more seniors request home-delivered meals, making it more expensive to meet the growing demand.
Uncertainty Surrounding Headquarters
The uncertainty surrounding our current headquarters at 1777 Capitola Road is another pressing issue. For seven years, we have attempted to secure a long-term solution with the Live Oak School District (LOSD) for the Live Oak Senior Center. Despite numerous discussions about purchasing the property, securing a long-term lease, or partnering on a mixed-use project that would benefit both senior services and teacher housing, no concrete progress has been made.
Currently, we are operating on a month-to-month lease, while LOSD advances its bond measure campaign, which could lead to the redevelopment of the Live Oak Senior Center. The potential impact of this redevelopment on our services is unclear.
Escalating Demand for Services
The greatest challenge we face is the rapidly escalating demand for our services. Seniors are the fastest-growing age group in California and the United States. In Santa Cruz County, the 65-84 population has grown by 80.9%, the fastest rate in the state. Of the county’s 74,495 seniors, 12,604 are eligible for Medi-Cal, with the over-60 Medi-Cal eligible population increasing by 261% since 2011.
Nearly two-thirds of our participants live at nutritional risk, meaning they have missed meals or lack access to food, and more than half live in poverty. As the senior population continues to expand, the pressure on our program intensifies.
OUR PATH FORWARD
In response to the significant challenges facing Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County, we are taking proactive steps to sustain our services and continue supporting the growing number of older adults in our community. While these measures are necessary, they alone will not be enough to meet the increasing demand.
Limiting Enrollment to Those 60 and Older
To prioritize resources for the most vulnerable, we have made the difficult decision to limit enrollment to individuals aged 60 and older. Previously, we were able to include persons with disabilities under 60, but the rising demand and limited resources have necessitated this change.
Delaying Enrollment and Collaborating with Discharge Planners
We are working closely with hospital discharge planners to ensure that recently discharged individuals are referred to Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Medically Tailored Meals (MTM) programs for a 12-week eligibility period before being referred to Meals on Wheels. This approach helps us manage our limited capacity more effectively.
Assessing Acuity and Reserving Services for the Most Vulnerable
We are now conducting more thorough assessments to determine the acuity of potential clients, reserving our services for those who are most vulnerable—those who cannot drive, cannot prepare their own meals, or have no other support services available.
Increasing Our Suggested Donation
To help offset rising costs, we have increased our suggested donation to $3.50 per meal. Unlike many Meals on Wheels programs that require payment, ours only requests a suggested donation, which still falls short of covering the full cost of the meal.
While these changes are moving us in the right direction, they are not enough to meet the growing needs of our senior community, nor will they allow us to maintain our current service levels. We continue to work with the Live Oak School District toward a long-term solution for our headquarters, and we are assessing other operational issues, but the challenges we face require more comprehensive action and support.
To ensure that Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County can continue serving older adults like Phylois Norman, we need your help. Your donations are vital to keeping our program running and preventing a waitlist that could leave seniors in need without support. Please consider making a gift at communitybridges.org/donate and continue advocating to our local leaders for stable funding and a secure location from which we can operate. You can also stay informed by signing up for our Meals on Wheels mailing list at communitybridges.org/newsletters to receive updates on the program.
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