Meals On Wheels waiting lists grow as Texas braces for federal funding cuts

Each month, Meals on Wheels Central Texas CEO Henry Van de Putte faces a growing number of seniors looking to get on the food delivery schedule offered by his organization.

Last month, the nonprofit group brought on 121 more Austin-area seniors to join the more than 4,000 clients his group serves. And as of this week, there’s another 171 who are waiting to be added.

To do that, Van de Putte and executives of the more than 70 Meals on Wheels organizations in Texas are moving more slowly on applications, having to weigh each new applicant more carefully as they wait for word from Washington as to how much of a hit their already battered budgets have taken.