TARCOG addresses recent concerns over meal programs
Agency officials say no resident will have to go without a meal
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Seniors from the East-Limestone Senior Center recently raised concerns over the lengthy wait list for the center’s Meals on Wheels program.
Directors of the senior center looked to TARCOG (Top Of Alabama Regional Council Of Governments) for answers.
TARCOG community service coordinator Emmitt Davis says being put on a wait list does not mean the senior won’t ever receive a meal.
“We never tell a person that they can’t get a meal. We don’t deny anybody. What we may do is if a person, we put them on a waiting list, it may them a few days to receive that meal once we process them in, but we don’t deny anybody a meal,” Davis said.
Davis says during the COVID pandemic, the number of seniors joining meal programs increased, and now that COVID relief funds are no longer being distributed, the agency has more seniors than it can handle.
“That large amount of people are still within our budget that we were not really allocated to serve under the current budget,” Davis said.
Davis says TARCOG is working to implement new programs like a sponsorship form that will help reduce the number of people on wait lists.
“It’s a form which allows an individual or a church or an organization to sponsor a particular person that wants a meal. We’re in the process of developing a platform where they can maybe do it online or if they want to it through TARCOG we can do that as well,” he said.
Davis says TARCOG representatives are always standing by to ensure seniors are cared for.
“All they have to do is call TARCOG. Call our nutrition team and we can walk them through the various options that we have in order to receive a meal,” Davis said.
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