LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — It sounds simple: give food to the elderly people of the county.

 

But it is much more than that. The drivers delivering through Elder Services of Berkshire County's meals on wheels program can often be the only person the recipient sees.

 

The drivers are the ones who will know if something is off and can contact social services, police, or medical services. They bring companionship and they bring what is often the elder's most important meal of the day.

 

"For between two-thirds to three-fourths of the people who get home-delivered meals, it is their primary meal of the day. It is often their most nutritious meal of the day. If it weren't for that meal, most of them would be food insecure," Executive Director John Lutz said.

 

"They would be at risk of malnutrition."

 

The program prepares and delivers some 650 meals for delivery and 200 others for congregate meal sites. However, the federal government is looking to cut back a number of social service programs that feed into Meals on Wheels, pushing more responsibility to fund these on the state. 

 

"Massachusetts, particularly the House, has considered this an important program and we've been fully funding this for the last several years. The challenge this year is that the federal government is seeking to cut their portion of it. As the federal government continues to cut all these different programs, there is a high expectation of the state to backfill that," state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier said.

 

Farley-Bouvier had joined state Rep. Paul Mark and Kevin Towle from state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi's office on Friday morning to become drivers for the day. The reps toured the kitchen facility and went on the routes as Lutz emphasized the importance of the program. 

 

"Seeing something firsthand always makes us better advocates in Boston because we can explain it better, explain why it is important," Mark said.

 

Lutz said as many as 75 percent of the people who receive meals do so five days a week and that the delivery driver is the primary person about 40 percent see every day. 

 

"It is a pretty simple job, we are feeding people. Feeding people helps people stay healthy, get healthy, remain secure, remain living in their homes. It's not a very complicated thing but it's a complex thing," Lutz said. 

 

The drivers build a relationship with that person and know if some seems off. They are trained what to do in emergencies or if there are protective service issues. They have protocols in place if the person doesn't answer the doors and police are called to do well-being checks. Sometimes, they are the ones who discover when the person dies.

 

"Most every driver has had the unfortunate circumstance of finding someone either unconscious or deceased in their apartment. Sometimes we are the people who find them," Lutz said. 

 

Mark called programs like Meals on Wheels "an investment" because it helps keep people in their homes longer, which costs the state less than having them move to assisted living facilities. 

 

"A program like this is an investment because by spending a little bit here, we are saving a lot of money in the long run and allowing people to live a better quality of life," Mark said.

 

Mark's district is mostly rural, which means a loss of federal funding hurt his district more. Lutz said sometimes the cost of mileage to deliver the meals to some homes is more than the cost to prepare the meals. While Mark said rural delivery is even more important in rural areas than others.

 

"It is especially important in the hill towns. Transportation is difficult enough for anyone who lives in the hill towns but seniors especially have no other options. There is no restaurant, there is not a store locally, there is not family around. This might be the only meal they get every single day and it is certainly the most nutritious meal they get," Mark said.

 

The state budget calls for level funding of the program, Farley-Bouvier said, and there isn't much room to take on more expenses. The state's revenues are trending well short of projections, which will lead to reconsiderations in the next budget that is currently with the state Senate. The Pittsfield Democrat said other federal programs such as heating assistance are also being cut and the more of those programs that get scaled back, the more difficult it is for the state to cover all of the gaps.

 

"The revenue is an overarching problem we have and everyone is deeply concerned. We went into April hoping to make up that $220 million deficit but instead we are an additional $240 million below benchmark," Farley-Bouvier said. 

 

"There is no question that it is not only going to impact 2017 accounts but we have to re-look at FY2018 to see how we are going to solve this."

 

The county has an aging population but Farley-Bouvier said the people receiving the meals aren't just numbers, they are people who need to be taken care of.

 

"The people being served these meals are our neighbors, our friends, they are probably our teachers or retired police officers. These aren't just some old nameless person, these are our neighbors," Farley-Bouvier said.

 

"These are people who cared for us and our community and now it is our turn to care for them."