Seniors in PA and Del. at risk of losing critical meal deliveries and local food services

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- One trillion dollars of critical funding for Medicaid and food stamps is on the chopping block under President Trump's sweeping tax and spending cuts. The biggest direct risk could impact home-based care and food programs provided to senior citizens.

"We are cutting back on certain staffing, certain programs and initiatives we would typically do, and we've never seen cuts this large," said Candice Ray, Founder and CEO of Helping Hands, Warming Hearts.

Helping Hands, Warming Hearts is a federally funded healthcare enterprise in Philadelphia that offers non-medical transportation, occupational health services, meal delivery and more to seniors and those with disabilities in both Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Ray says they've already been in a financial crisis and now their food program is at risk. Ray fears they may only be able to offer one meal a day to those in need.

"I service about 750 seniors for my food program, so with reimbursements being cut and reimbursement rates being cut, we are forced to do more with less," said Ray. "A lot of the meals they really love to get, certain items are just not in the budget as it used to be."

Ray says food insecurity is a big concern now, especially for the marginalized communities they serve, who rely on meal deliveries. She is encouraging people to reach out to their state representatives in hopes of preventing these deep cuts.