JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Governor Ron DeSantis’ recent budget vetoes have significant implications for senior citizens in the state, including Northeast Florida. According to local organizations providing senior care and services, this is particularly true concerning home-delivered meal programs.
Two local projects, totaling $750,000, were on the veto list, affecting organizations that provide essential services to vulnerable seniors. The projects are LSP Senior Hot Meals Programming Baseline Budget Increase Request worth $350,000, and Mitigating Food Insecurity for Older Adults in Northeast Florida, worth $400,000.
The St. Johns County Council on Aging and Elder Source are among the organizations impacted by the vetoes.
These funds were intended to support home delivery meal programs for senior citizens, many of whom rely on these services for daily nutrition and social interaction.
At the St. Johns County Council on Aging, meals are prepared on-site and served to clients who visit its center on Marine Street in St. Augustine. Other meals are boxed and delivered to seniors who are homebound. Currently, about 300 senior citizens are on a waitlist for home deliveries.
Brian Robinson, the council’s program director, emphasized the importance of the funding.
“That doesn’t sound like a lot of people, but that’s 10 to 15 seniors whose lives would have been positively impacted,” Robinson stated. “Some of them don’t have family. And so that interaction with that volunteer is very meaningful to them, but it also serves as a wellness check, because that volunteer, if that senior does not come to the door, then they’re making a phone call.”
Elder Source, another organization affected by the vetoes, estimated that the funding would have provided meals for as many as 400 people throughout the year.
Linda Levin, CEO of Elder Source, expressed her disappointment.
“It was crushing, really, because we were really counting on it,” Levin said.
Levin told News4JAX she understands it was a tough budget year and is grateful for the senior care funding increases that were signed into the budget. However, she said the need for more home-delivered meals will increase.
“It’s sustaining them while they wait, maybe for some other programs and services,” Levin said. “So, we’re sad to not see that funding come through, and I am concerned with the fact that our community is aging. There are more older adults, and they are living longer, and the need is going to continue to grow.”
Despite the funding setback, seniors like Marge Pittaro remain grateful for the support they receive.
Though she isn’t homebound, Pittaro, 87, has been a client at St. Johns Council on Aging for two years. She looks for simple things she can do to help.
“Sometimes I donate a $10 bill to the lunch. If I have extra money, I do a little bit, I donate it,” Pittaro said. “I think government should take care of the seniors. We’ve been here for many years, and I think they should take care of us.”
Another organization, Aging True, is being impacted.
Aging True provides services for Clay and Duval counties and said the vetoed funding would have provided approximately 150,000 to 160,000 home delivery meals.
As the community navigates the impact of these budget vetoes, local organizations continue to seek alternative funding sources to support their vital programs.
