TEXAS \u2014\u00a0President Donald Trump signed America\u2019s future tax and spending policy into law on Fourth of July. Cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs were concerns raised by politicians on both sides of the aisle. Meals on Wheels (MOW) programs across Texas may feel the impact.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n About 100,000 Texans are fed through the different MOW programs throughout the state.<\/p>\n One couple, Cynthia Guido and Jesse Garcia, have been volunteering with MOW San Antonio for a few years. Their role is to deliver meals and do a quick check-in with clients.<\/p>\n \u201cThey just appreciate you being there, having a little conversation, bringing the meals, and I have to think that maybe some of these people would go hungry if it wasn\u2019t for Meals on Wheels,\u201d Guido said.<\/p>\n The couple volunteers three times a week.<\/p>\n \u201cWe like doing it together because Jesse will drive one day, I\u2019ll drive the next day,\u201d Guido said. \u201cWe get to see the people, talk, catch up with what they\u2019re doing, and we enjoy being together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt works for us,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Guido responded. \u201cIt does.\u201d<\/p>\n MOW San Antonio has been serving the community for almost 50 years and has more than 3,000 clients. Funding comes primarily from donors. The federal government is another source of funding.<\/p>\n \u201cMeals on Wheels is very blessed to have a lot of different funding streams coming in,\u201d said Vinsen Faris, the CEO of MOW San Antonio. \u201cWe do receive some passed through federal dollars. It usually averages 25% to 30% of our overall budget. As long as it\u2019s there, we can put it to good use. We are going to use it.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Faris explains that when temporary funding from the COVID-19 economic stimulus ended, the organization was hit hard. Money coming in from the American Rescue Plan Act ended in February 2025. Costs also keep rising and the elderly population has continued growing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have enough resources to do the job at hand,\u201d Faris said.<\/p>\n There are about 750 people on the waitlist to receive food from MOW San Antonio.<\/p>\n The new law, which Trump labeled the \u201cOne, Big, Beautiful Bill,\u201d makes significant changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and that has Faris concerned the need for services, like MOW, will continue to grow.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people that have been getting SNAP won\u2019t be able to use their SNAP benefits to obtain food,\u201d Faris said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be reaching out to us. People who have been on Medicaid services, not having those services, they\u2019re going to be reaching out to us. Our phones are going to be ringing more, more people are going to be seeking service, and we aren\u2019t going to have the resources to pick them up.\u201d<\/p>\n The national health policy organization KFF estimates about 300,000 Texans<\/a> currently on Medicaid will lose their health insurance when the law takes effect in 2027.<\/p>\n Feeding Texas issued a statement saying that about $186 billion<\/a> could be slashed from SNAP.<\/p>\n\n