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Vinsen Faris, CEO of Meals on Wheels San Antonio. Credit: Courtesy Vinsen Faris<\/p>\nMeals on Wheels San Antonio, a nonprofit that provides daily meals, wellness checks and social contact for homebound seniors and adults with disabilities, will suspend service for about 350 clients beginning the week of Nov. 3, citing significant funding reductions from the Alamo Area Council of Governments.<\/p>\n
The nonprofit currently serves around 3,600 people countywide, meaning nearly 10% of its clients will lose access to meal deliveries, according to CEO Vinsen Faris. The suspension will affect residents across Bexar County, including those who receive pet food assistance through the group\u2019s AniMeals program.<\/p>\n
Meal delivery for affected clients will pause indefinitely, with the possibility of reinstatement if additional funding becomes available. Faris said the shortfall stems from pending federal Older Americans Act dollars that flow through Texas Health and Human Services and the Alamo Area Council of Governments, which distributes the money locally.<\/p>\n
Vinsen Faris, CEO of Meals on Wheels San Antonio. Credit: Courtesy Vinsen Faris<\/p>\n
The suspension of services coincides with the 15th day of the federal government shutdown, which has stalled approval of a fiscal year 2026 budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, it\u2019s still a big unknown because we don\u2019t know what Congress is going to do since they haven\u2019t passed any of the 12 budget bills that fund the government.\u201d Faris said.<\/p>\n
Even once the shutdown ends, services locally may continue to be affected. Faris said Meals on Wheels was notified at the end of September that its allocation of Old American Act dollars could be reduced by $500,000 to $1 million next year compared to fiscal year 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCongress could come in and do the right thing, fund Meals on Wheels programs across the country at a level that they should be funded at, and we\u2019ll have all of these people back on the service in no time,\u201d he said. \u201cOf course, we have no idea when Congress is going to get back in session, when the shutdown will end and when the budgets will be passed, so our fingers are just kind of crossed at the moment hoping for the best.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While funding uncertainty continues, Faris said the nonprofit is doing everything it can to maintain its current workforce. No staff positions have been affected so far, though that could change if the shutdown or budget delays persist.<\/p>\n
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Cynthia Thomas, community engagement coordinator at Meals on Wheels San Antonio, speaks to volunteers attending orientation at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in 2023. Credit: Brenda Baz\u00e1n \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
To determine which clients would remain on meal delivery routes, the organization relied on the Texas Health and Human Services Consumer Needs Evaluation \u2014 a state assessment that scores individuals on their ability to perform daily living activities such as bathing, dressing and meal preparation, as well as mental health factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone who receives Meals on Wheels benefits from it,\u201d Faris said. \u201cBut this scoring showed whose needs were not as great as others \u2014 that\u2019s how we made those decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The suspension, he added, was evenly distributed across the county rather than concentrated in any one neighborhood or demographic group, based on a heat map the organization created.<\/p>\n