Plates of protest

Possible meal cuts by state prompt elderly action

By Bob Miller ~ Southeast Missourian

Joyce Kowal, 63, is in constant pain.

She had back surgery a couple years ago and it gives her fits. She deals with diabetes and endures arthritis.

A broken ankle and heart bypass surgery have made cooking her own meals that much more difficult.

And considering she is on a tight, fixed income, the free lunches delivered to her house by the Cape Girardeau Senior Center are a blessing.

"When you live alone and you're in chronic pain, you don't cook properly for yourself," she said. "That's one square meal you get a day."

But the fiscal 2003 state budget proposal submitted by Gov. Bob Holden would drastically cut funds to the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging. The home-delivered meal program would be the hardest hit, representatives with the agency say.

Plate protest

Home-bound elderly from all 38 centers funded through the Cape Girardeau-based agency are cutting paper plates in half in protest. They are writing their names on the cutouts and sending them to government officials, including the governor, state Rep. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, and state Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau.

"If you are going to cut half our funds, you decide who gets their meal and who doesn't," said Cape Girardeau Senior Center director Susan McClanahan Thursday.

A spokesman for the governor's office could not be reached Thursday.

The Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging stands to lose $824,742 in state money under the current budget proposal, it says. With Medicaid matching funds tied to the state's contribution, an additional $1.1 million would also be lost.

This $1.9 million total represents about half of the agency's annual $3.87 million budget.

Holden has recommended that $22.5 million from state savings, also called the rainy day fund, be used to support community service programs like the agency. But the General Assembly would have to approve the recommendation by a two-thirds majority. Some lawmakers have said that is unlikely.

Linda Luebbering, section manager with the state's Division of Budget and Planning, said if the legislature does not approve use of the rainy day fund, the governor would have to come up with another plan.

Crowell, who said he strongly opposes the governor's budget proposal, said representatives have had to almost start from scratch on the budget.

"I don't think you use the rainy day fund for those purposes," he said. "Where will we be next year? It's robbing Peter to pay Paul, and I don't think many members of the General Assembly are going to support dipping into reserves to fund general core programs. It's just a terrible, terrible precedent."

Painful cuts

Although the proposed budget cuts would hurt the home-delivery program the most, the entire center would be affected, McClanahan said.

The Cape Girardeau Senior Center serves about 225 meals a day, and 110 of those are delivered. More than 2,200 elderly have used the center in some capacity in recent months.

"I'm concerned for the seniors because it would affect those who are the most needy," said Lana Johnson, a Cape Girardeau nutritionist who works with the elderly. "It's the only food they may be eating that day, and the person who delivers the food may be the only person they see that day."

The meals are vital to Cora Wise, 90, of Cape Girardeau.

"Oh my goodness, they're so important," Wise said of the meals. "I'm handicapped and crippled. I always try to have things I can fix quick so I don't have to stand, so the meals are wonderful."

Though they may be needed, the delivered meals come at a high cost. Counting transportation, containers and all other expenses, meals cost $4.68. The senior center asks for a $2.50 donation per meal, but receives an average $1.48 donation. Even if someone can't donate, they can still get a meal.

"The delivery of food is very expensive," McClanahan said. "The containers to send the food out is expensive and any time you're dealing with transportation of materials, it's all expensive. And we do have vehicles and insurance and we have to pay for gas."

Still, McClanahan said the timing isn't good for a drastic cut.

"Our population is aging and unless things change, we're not going to be able to meet demand," she said. "I think it's unreasonable to cut the budget in an area that is going to grow."

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, ext. 127