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This story was updated at 10:15 a.m. on October 15, 2025.
Meals on Wheels San Antonio is suspending food delivery services for hundreds of senior clients in the first week of November due to major budget cuts, according to a press release from the organization.
The home meal delivery nonprofit said a funding reduction from the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) forced the decision.
“This is one of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever had to make,” said Meals on Wheels San Antonio CEO Vinsen Faris in a statement. “We know how much these meals and visits mean to our clients — they provide nourishment, companionship, and safety. We are doing everything we can to fill the funding gap and continue serving those who depend on us. As always, we encourage you to check on your senior neighbors.”
Faris said he believed the funding cut from AACOG was entirely based on reduced funding from the federal government, saying it was “the cards they’ve been dealt.”
AACOG did not respond to TPR’s request for comment. The regional planning organization administers federal and state funds to local governments and agencies.
Approximately 350 senior clients will no longer receive home meal deliveries starting on Nov. 3. The suspension will last until new funding becomes available. Faris said the organization has never had to pull back services from this many people before.
The nonprofit has an annual budget of $16 to $18 million, and federal funding makes up between a quarter and a third of that annual budget.
Meals on Wheels San Antonio was informed about the likely reduction in funding before the government shutdown, but Faris said the outcome of that budget deadlock could be significant for the organization’s operations.
“We had not been making those plans, and that's why this is coming at such a jolt, because our immediate monthly revenue stream, cash flow, is going to be significantly impaired,” he said. “And then looking at long-term with what's going on with the government shutdown, not knowing how long it will be, this could really, really be harmful to the organization, because we do not have enough reserves to last that long.”
Optimistically, he said, Congress could pass funding bills that include flat or even increased funds to Meals on Wheels. But Congress might also cut back on services like the ones his organization provides even further.
“Anyone's guess on what's going to happen in Congress,” Faris said. “So this particular funding decrease we're expecting now could, in fact, be more, but we hope not.”
The nonprofit's animal food delivery program, Animeals, will also be suspended for those clients unless they receive more funding.
Impacted clients have already been contacted about the upcoming service cuts and other resources they can access.
If seniors whose service was cut wish to continue receiving home deliveries, they will have to pay $100 per month for the Client Supported Meal Option.
The press release said decisions on whose services to suspend were based on levels of need.
Meals on Wheels San Antonio often emphasizes the dual role that home deliveries serve as safety checks and opportunities for social interaction for seniors who are often isolated at home.
Those will also be lost as a result of the budget cuts and corresponding service reductions.
Faris encouraged members of the public who wish to help to donate to the organization and contact their congressmembers.
“People can definitely write those checks if they're so inclined and have the means to do so, but they can also reach out, call their congressman and say, end the shutdown and let's get this thing behind us and know what's going on.”
Disclosure: Meals on Wheels is a sponsor of Texas Public Radio. We cover them as we would any other business, institution, or organization.
