One of the budget items supposedly on the chopping block by the Trump Administration is Meals on Wheels (MOW).

Media, Twitter, and Facebook have gone nuts over WH Budget Director Mick Mulvaney saying that MOW doesn’t show results and cutting the program is compassionate.

https://youtu.be/wC2cG00qMqo

Only one problem with this. Snippets of quotes were taken out of context as noted here by the Washington Post (yes, the WAPO):

But, because of tweets and snippets posted on the Web, it appears his comments have been misinterpreted. He was not talking about Meals on Wheels, but about a program in Housing and Urban Development Department known as CDBG, or community development block grants.

But wait! Meals on Wheels is still going to lose their funding from the CDBG! Well, not really. You see, very little funding on the state and local level to MOW comes from those block grants. In fact, Meals on Wheels funding comes from a completely different source altogether.

Details on our network’s primary source of funding, the Older Americans Act, which has supported senior nutrition programs for 45 years, have not yet been released. This vital Act provides 35% of the total funding for Meals on Wheels (both congregate and home-delivered programs) nationally. With a stated 17.9% cut to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget, however, it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which these critical services would not be significantly and negatively impacted if enacted into law. [emphasis added]

Here’s something else to consider.

“The FY 2016 budget level for the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program (through HHS) was $834,753,000,” she said. “The 2017 ask (proposed by House) is $848,557,000.”

Keep in mind that when DC lawmakers and lobbyists scream about budget “cuts” what they are talking about is something entirely different. For example: HHS is asking for more than they spent last year. If they don’t get that amount and have to stick with the same $$ amount from 2016…that is considered a “cut.” That right there is one of the major problems with Washington’s ability to budget…but I digress.

On chopping block: $3 billion Community Development Block Grant program, which funds programs like Meals on Wheelshttps://t.co/oVNX4V0B2z

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 16, 2017

Only one problem with that is that the CBDG funds very little of MOW. Very little. In 2009 funds went to  the following:

$588,000 for a marina in Alexandria, Lousiana
$245,000 for the expansion of an art museum in Allentown, Pennsylvania
$147,000 for a canopy walk at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens in Georgia
$196,000 for expanding the Calvin Coolidge State historic site in Vermont
$294,000 for a community recreational facility in New Haven, Connecticut
$196,000 for the construction of an auditorium in Casper, Wyoming

In 2016 none of the $761,744 that Riverside County received went to Meals on Wheels. It went to a playground, sidewalks, and expenses instead.

However, that hasn’t stopped other kinds of overreaction to the idea that MOW would be chopped.

Meals on Wheels serves meals to 2.4 million seniors, including 500k veterans each year. But no one loves our veterans more than Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/kMItyKRnYV

— Nick Gourevitch (@nickgourevitch) March 16, 2017

So Director Judd Apatow had a ‘brilliant’ idea. Resist!!

Everyone should read this. Meals on Wheels serves meals to 500K veterans a year. Nothing Trump does makes sense. We must resist bad ideas. https://t.co/YhY0UTuNhX

— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) March 17, 2017

Here’s a stat worth noting. Only 3% of the overall MOW budget comes from the federal government. That’s right. THREE Percent. The rest comes from the states and generous donations by individuals. And since Apatow is so concerned NOW about veterans…

@nickgourevitch write a check

— Cheesetrader (@cheesetrader1) March 17, 2017

There you go.

Meals on Wheels is an amazing program. I have some very good friends who volunteer with it and it’s the highlight of their week to meet with and chat with the seniors they serve.

That said, it’s worth taking an in-depth look at where the funding really comes from and again, keep in mind that only 3% of that funding comes from the federal government.