Not Just Food Insecurity

Every other day or two reality really hits and I start crying over <everything> catching up on the news of the day, hour, minute. Last night was one of those nights. My head hurts. My heart hurts.

I was scrolling through The Guardian and came across this article – WHICH I’M OBVIOUSLY GOING TO READ and LO! Look who was interviewed – FeedMore WNY – Catherine!!!

Trump administration’s budget cuts endanger Meals on Wheels: ‘Life and death implications’

• “The non-profit FeedMore WNY, which serves homebound older adults in New York’s Erie and Niagara counties, said they’ve been hearing from fearful older clients as word of other recent cuts circulated in the news.
• Catherine Shick, the public relations manager for FeedMore WNY, said they served 4,775 unique Meals on Wheels clients last year and that demand for their feeding programs increased by 16% from 2023 to 2024, a trend they expect to continue.

Back in the day, I worked for the Food Bank of WNY and I’ve been a Meals on Wheels volunteer in our rural town. These programs are not optional. People will die. Many alone…Meals on Wheels was a very challenging volunteer experience for this empath. The wellness check. It’s not just delivering a healthy meal. For so many it’s their lifeline.

America already needed to do so much more to take care of our elders – stripping away the bare minimum safety net allowing people to stay in their homes? Vile. What have we become?

DO SOMETHING!

DONATE OR SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER w/ FEEDMORE WNY!

Tell Congress – Support & Strengthen Federal Nutrition Programs – Healthy food is a basic human right! Send an email to your officials with one click!

• In NY alone, 2.9M people receive SNAP to help put food on the table. 30% of NY’s SNAP participants are children, and 31% are seniors or people with disabilities.
• SNAP supports local economies. Every $1 in SNAP benefits generates up to $1.80 in economic impact during downturns. In NY, SNAP brings $650 million into local economies each month.
• SNAP is an important revenue source for more than 17,000 retailers in NY, including 180 farmers’ markets.