City says Meals on Wheels waiting list reduced by 45% since July with addition of $2M for Senior Food Insecurity Program

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As Mayor Donna Deegan delivered holiday meals to homebound senior citizens on Monday, the city of Jacksonville celebrated some success in making sure more seniors have food security.

But Deegan said the city still has some ground to make up.

Feeding elderly, food-insecure residents was one of the priorities identified by the health committee of Deegan’s transition team.

“It is obviously a need for us. We do have food insecurity that we need to deal with in our city. We do have a long waiting list,” Deegan said. “These wonderful folks (at Meals on Wheels) do a great job of preparing these beautiful meals to deliver to folks. But we wish there were more and we were able to do more.”

With the need for improvement in mind, $2 million was allocated for a home-delivered nutrition program as part of the Mayor’s Task Force budget passed by the City Council this summer.

The Senior Food Insecurity Program is designed to reduce hunger and food insecurity among older adults who are unable to obtain nutritious food for a variety of reasons.

Aging True has been delivering daily meals to the 20 area Senior Centers and via Meals on Wheels home delivery with funding from the city of Jacksonville.

Since the additional $2 million in funding was allocated, Meals on Wheels has been able to serve nearly 1,300 additional clients and reduce its waiting list by 45% since July 2024.

“It’s a big help to see that decline in the waiting list, but it’s always going to be something that we need to shine a light on. People can’t know there’s an issue unless you let them know there’s an issue," Deegan said. “I think the more that people are aware of it the better.”

The city said a survey of program participants found that 92% reported that their nutritional needs had improved, 94% stated that the meals had improved their quality of life, and 89% said that their food insecurity had been reduced.

Deegan said she hopes personally delivering meals on Monday will bring more attention to the issue of food insecurity.

“It’s a good way also just to call attention to that,” Deegan said. “We’re just spreading some holiday cheer today, going out and sharing some meals with some folks during the holidays, just telling them how much I appreciate them and love them during Christmas.”