86-year-old woman says Meals on Wheels is her lifeline amid government shutdown

Meals on Wheels a lifeline amid government shutdown

The government shutdown not only impacts SNAP benefits, but nonprofits like Meals on Wheels. KTVU's Aaron Dickens spoke with an 86-year-old woman who relies on both.

SAN FRANCISCO - The government shutdown that started Oct. 1 shows no signs of being resolved, and the people who rely on federally-funded programs are starting to feel the pain.

San Francisco resident Carmen Sy, 86, relies on SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Meals on Wheels to provide food. The latter program provides her with food seven times a week.

Local perspective:

"I am so blessed to have Meals on Wheels. I cannot thank you enough," Sy said. "This is important because I am legally blind. I cannot cook anymore. I do not have enough money to buy food."

Even if she weren't facing those issues, Sy would have a hard time feeding herself. She lives on the second floor of her building, and said going up and down a steep and narrow stairway is not easy.

"I am holding the handrail. One at a time. If I feel very tired, I sit down for a while and walk another two steps again," Sy said.

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So she only leaves her house for doctor's appointments.

With the federal government shutdown, the money she gets from SNAP is now in limbo, and Meals on Wheels is at risk of losing federal funding.

"I feel very scared. I do not know where to go. Every day and night. I think about it. I have been here for 57 years. This has never happened in my life," Sy said.

Daniel Granera is a delivery driver with Meals on Wheels and said it's common that he's the only person Sy and others like her will see.

"She doesn't have anyone visiting here, so we are pretty much the only people she sees," Granera said. "Every time I encounter a homebound senior, they say ‘are you going to be back? Am I going to be receiving my meals?’ I always tell them, yes we are going to see you next week."

The CEO of Meals on Wheels San Francisco, Jennifer Steele, said 50% of the people they serve get SNAP benefits.

Increased demand for Meals on Wheels

"When those benefits go away, people are not going to have enough food. It is going to increase the demand for a service like Meals on Wheels, in a time when our funding is in jeopardy because of the government shutdown," Steele said.

Meanwhile, Sy says she is staying strong through all of this, even with the challenge of walking down the stairs in her apartment.

"When it's painful, I just sit down and step one at a time. That's also my outlook in life. One step at a time. Day by day. I have hope," Sy said. 

The SNAP standoff explained

Gina Plata-Nino, SNAP Deputy Director at the Food Research & Action Center, gives insight on why the Trump administration is sitting on SNAP funds. Plata-Nino, is also a former senior advisor for nutrition and agriculture in the Biden-Harris administration’s domestic policy council.