Meals on Wheels faces potential federal funding cuts

By West Texas Tribune | April 6, 2025 |

Betty Bradley, executive director of the Abilene Meals on Wheels program, was a recent guest on the “It’s Everything West Texas” podcast hosted by Floyd Miller.

Meals on Wheels of Abilene could be forced to reduce services to more than half of its 1,700 clients if proposed federal budget cuts eliminate crucial funding, according to the organization’s long-time director.

Betty Bradley, who has led the nonprofit since its founding in 1975, discussed the potential impact of congressional budget cuts during a recent interview on the “It’s Everything West Texas” podcast hosted by Floyd Miller.

“If that goes away, we’re probably going to have to reduce our client base by more than half,” Bradley said regarding the Social Services Block Grant funding, also known as Title 20, which provides $1.9 million of the organization’s $3.7 million budget.

The funding remains uncertain as both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate review proposals.

“The way things are happening in Washington right now, it’s a new surprise almost every day,” Bradley said. “The funding that we rely on primarily from the federal government … is part of the social services block grant. It’s been on the chopping block to be eliminated from time to time in the past, and it’s on the chopping block again.”

Bradley said Meals on Wheels serves more than 1,700 people in Abilene and 14 surrounding communities, delivering daily meals to seniors and adults with disabilities.

“Meals on Wheels is available for people that are 65 and older and have health problems and have a need for somebody to provide a balanced meal for them,” she said. “We also serve younger adults with one or more disabilities, people 18 to 65, that may have mental, emotional or physical disabilities or a combination.”

Beyond nutrition, the program provides essential wellness checks. Bradley recounted recent incidents where volunteers found clients who had fallen or were experiencing medical emergencies. Read more about those situations on Page 6 of the April 2025 issue of the West Texas Tribune, as well as on this website.

“The volunteers saved lives as well as delivering a meal,” she said.

A recent survey highlighted the program’s importance to food security for vulnerable populations.

“Over 61% of the people that responded to that survey said that the lunch that they receive from Meals on Wheels is more than half of what they have to eat each day,” Bradley said.
Keeping seniors independent through nutrition support is cost-effective compared to institutional care. “The cost of meals for one person for an entire year is roughly the cost of one day in the hospital or 10 in a nursing home,” she said.

The organization is seeking community support through donations and volunteer drivers.

“We’ve been swamped with requests for meals over the last 12 months or longer,” Bradley said. “We get requests every day … and we’re going ahead and serving them as fast as we can get them enrolled, even though we don’t have funding to cover the costs of the meals.”

Bradley is scheduled to visit Washington, D.C., to participate in an educational panel for Senate staff members and hopes to meet with Rep. Jody Arrington and Sen. John Cornyn during her visit.

Meals on Wheels of Abilene will celebrate its 50th anniversary on May 22 with a fundraising event featuring former NFL quarterback Terry Bradshaw at the DoubleTree Hotel.

You can listen to Bradley’s segment on the local Meals on Wheels program on the “It’s Everything West Texas” podcast on the KACU website, www.kacu.org. For more information about Meals on Wheels services or to donate, call 325-672-5050 or visit 717 N. 10th St. in Abilene.