Houston officials approved an additional $6.7 million in funding for senior programs that include nutrition and transportation services.
What happened
At the Sept. 16 meeting, Houston City Council members unanimously approved a contract extension that provides nutrition and transportation services for senior programs, such as Meals on Wheels, which delivers meals to people’s homes.
The contract also increases funding by $6.7 million through partnerships with other municipalities and organizations, such as BakerRipley and the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center.
Those in favor
Council member Joe Panzarella supported the one-year extension, which is set to expire in September 2027.
“This program helps those in need get transportation to locations for congregate meals, as well as home-delivered meals,” he said. “This serves over 10,000 meals a day, assisting over 7,200 homebound seniors and transporting over 450 individuals.”
Partnerships through the program also include Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, the city of South Houston, Jacinto City, the Salvation Army and the city of La Porte.
“I want to give a shout-out to the [Houston] Health Department for being an amazing steward of this program and all the partners at the city who help make sure no one goes hungry,” Panzarella added.
Council member Julian Ramirez said that this decision will also pick up programs that were previously handled by the Young Women's Christian Association.
“A lot of this is for Meals on Wheels programs, which are hugely important to a lot of homebound folks and a lot of folks who don't get much contact or communication with others,” Ramirez said.
One more thing
The contract began in October 2021 and has been extended every year since then. It is capped at a total of $55.4 million, per the agenda item.
