Meals on Wheels runs into funding crisis

Linda Kurzawa doesn't want to see the local Meals on Wheels program grind to a halt.

The District 6 DuPage County Board member and chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee said Tuesday that the program's funding is being cut at a level that will take food out of 150 people's mouths almost immediately, unless the county steps in to ward off disaster.

The county program serves an average of 1,500 meals daily, mostly to homebound seniors, supported by a combination of grants, the United Way, local municipalities and independent donations. A network of volunteers keeps the service going, but its numbers have been dwindling in the past year or two, and now the funds are waning as well.

Kurzawa said she plans to request that the county lend a hand. At the next County Board meeting Nov. 10, she will request six months' emergency funding — initially proposing a special appropriation of $40,000, or one-third of what's needed to sustain the service for that long — to provide time for officials to assess the program and who is benefiting from it. The aim is to channel away those who could benefit from separate programs so the remaining resources can be concentrated on those who most need them, Kurzawa said.

"We want to at least bridge this while we put a spotlight on it, to see what the situation is in the county," she said.