r/Malibu

First, MAJOR SHOUT OUT to the reddit community who came through when we posted our story running in The Argonaut last week about the current state of the state with our home-delivered meal program waitlist. Linking to that post HERE if you want to see the thread.

Since this is important news, more outlets are picking up the story, including our local Santa Monica Daily Press. Today's cover story can be read HERE.

A few quick facts about the current client base at Meals On Wheels West:

• The median age is 78 years old
• Nearly 8 in 10 live with a disability, most often mobility problems or chronic pain
• At least 83% of clients state they cannot safely cook for themselves
• More than one in five are veterans or the spouses of veterans
• Nearly one in four have experienced homelessness

On the waitlist are possible clients with those same data points, waiting for an opportunity to receive fully subsidized meals delivered to their homes.

For the first time in our organization's history (more than 50 years), we had to put a waitlist in place last winter for clients who can not pay for their meals. Economic pressures have compounded to the point where we on track to see 100 neighbors on our waitlist with no solve in the immediate future.

How did we get here...? Here's a few factors that come into play.

• The increase in aging adults (known as the "gray wave" or "silver tsunami") will have our population sitting with more people older than 65 years old than children (under 18 years) by 2030. Infrastructurally, most sectors and communities are not equipped to manage this shift in our population.
• Meals on Wheels programs are all independently run as their own nonprofit organizations, meaning we are all working hard to secure our own funding for our own programs. Only a select few receive government or health insurance support/coverage (despite "food as medicine" being a cornerstone of healthcare nowadays). Just in LA County, there are more than 20 Meals on Wheels programs all working hard to secure funding for their programs.
• In this country, food insecurity has quadrupled for seniors over the last 25 years.
• More than 60% of Meals on Wheels programs in California have a waitlist (double the national average)

We will continue to share these insights with the community, as neighbors helping neighbors is our path forward. Read more about the waitlist and challenges in the cover story in this week's The Argonaut HERE.

Inspired by the scenes and imagery of coastal Southern California. This painting was completed with Liquitex acrylic paint on stretched cotton canvas. Finished in the style of Hiroshi Nagai.