AUSTIN – Today, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) will support 120 meal providers across the state that serve meals to homebound elderly and disabled Texans through TDA’s Texans Feeding Texans: Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program.

“Sadly, many elderly and disabled Texans are going hungry in our State,” Commissioner Miller said. “We must do everything in our power to make sure our seniors and Texans with special needs never go without food. This funding will help fill the stomachs and hearts of people who need it most. We’re giving them a helping hand, not a handout. This saves taxpayers’ money, and it also allows seniors and those with special needs to live where they are in a secure, happy, and healthy environment.”

The Texans Feeding Texans: Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program was created during the 80th Legislative Session in 2007 to give supplemental funding to home-delivered meal programs and providers.

The Home-Delivered Meal Grant program was established to help support governmental and non-profit agencies providing homebound Texans at-home meals. This year, TDA will be awarding approximately $9.6 million to 120 meal providers across the state.

Last year, these meal providers delivered more than 16 million meals. These grants awards are formula-based, in part on the number of meals eligible applicants serve. Grant funds can only be used to supplement and expand existing services related to the delivery of meals to homebound elderly and disabled Texans.

“The Texas Department of Agriculture continues to be a wonderful partner in helping Meals on Wheels programs from across the great state of Texas provide nutritional and social support to the most vulnerable in our communities,” Olivia Burdick, President of Meals on Wheels Texas, said.

For more information on the Texans Feeding Texans: Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program, or for a complete list of recipients, visit www.texasagriculture.gov and click on Grants/Funding.

For governmental and non-profit agencies interested in applying in the future, applications are accepted Sept. 1 - Nov. 1 each year.

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