Some on the right have acknowledged the importance of Meals on Wheels. The Trump administration has threatened its future.

In the last year, the program — which provides meals to seniors in need and people with disabilities — has been touted on Fox and even by Steve Bannon. Its future is suddenly unclear.

Written by John Knefel

Published

Some right-wing media figures have acknowledged the importance of Meals on Wheels, which receives some funding from the federal government, as a key program to deliver food to the elderly and people with disabilities. Now, President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services — which helps administer Meals on Wheels — are putting the program’s future at risk. 

The Trump administration has thrown the Department of Health and Human Services into uncertainty and chaos. In late March, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced planned firings totaling  10,000 employees, in addition to the same number who had already taken buyouts or early retirement packages. The firings commenced on April 1, leading to what one HHS employee described to CNN as a “bloodbath.” On April 3, Kennedy claimed some of the firings were a “mistake,” but two days later NPR reported that “chaos and confusion dominated” across HHS and that the “government is not providing precise details about the positions and functions that have been cut.” On April 8, Stat News reported that the total so-called reduction in force amounted to 20,000 people.   

As a result, Meals on Wheels providers and recipients throughout the country are worried about the future of the service. 

“There are a lot of question marks right now,” Josh Protas, chief advocacy and policy officer at Meals on Wheels America, told USA Today — though he added that he wasn’t aware of any disruptions yet.

  • Trump decimates agency responsible for Meals on Wheels

    • On April 1, NPR reported that at least 40% of the staff of the Administration for Community Living — an agency with HHS that oversees Meals on Wheels — had received layoff notices when they showed up for work that day. ACL distributes 216 million meals annually through Meals on Wheels, and the agency’s former head said there’s “no way” the recent firings will “not impact the programs and the people who rely on them." [NPR, 4/1/25]
    • On March 27, Kennedy announced a restructuring of HHS that would seek to eliminate ACL entirely. The move came as a shock, as former ACL Administration on Disabilities commissioner Jill Jacobs told Mother Jones. “It’s not something that’s been on anyone’s radar, not a conversation that anyone’s been having,” she said. [Department of Health and Human Services, 3/27/25; Mother Jones, 3/28/25]   
    • In late January, a Trump administration freeze on federal funding — which was ultimately revoked — had also threatened to interrupt services provided by Meals on Wheels. Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander said in a statement that her organization was “concerned that threats to the Older Americans Act (OAA) Nutrition Program – the primary source of federal funding for Meals on Wheels – will continue to persist.” [Meals on Wheels, 1/30/25]

  • How Meals on Wheels was discussed on Fox News during Trump's federal funding freeze in January

    • Amid concern about the program in late January, Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt listed social welfare programs that she claimed wouldn’t be affected by the federal freeze, to which co-host Brian Kilmeade added: “Meals on Wheels.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 1/29/25]
    • The previous night, Fox News host Laura Ingraham dismissed reports about the widespread effects of the spending freeze by telling her audience: “No one’s cutting Meals on Wheels.” She had previously listed government spending cuts she supported, saying, “Millions and billions? Yeah, I care about that. And I think the people do as well. Trump wins on this. Meals on Wheels? No, no one is cutting Meals on Wheels. That’s just a complete media — that’s a typical media sob story.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 1/28/25]

  • Fox News personalities have pointed to the role of Meals on Wheels in Vice President JD Vance’s childhood

    • During the Republican National Convention, Fox News contributor Byron York celebrated Vance’s “extraordinary story,” adding, “He can also, I think, lend a lot of personal credibility to issues like drug addiction, to issues like inflation, as someone who — you know, he tells the story of someone, his grandmother, asking Meals on Wheels for more food so that she could feed him. He knows of the effect of a lot of these policies on Americans with very low incomes.” [Fox News, Special Report With Bret Baier, 7/17/24]
    • Also during the RNC, Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade defended Vance as a champion of the working class, saying, “You really think he’s going to get rid of Meals on Wheels?” Kilmeade continued: “Do you think he really hates people on food stamps? They sustained his family.” In January, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that Republican proposals could result in major cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — formerly known as food stamps — and endanger benefits for up to 40 million recipients. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 7/16/24; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 1/13/25] 

  • Steve Bannon has acknowledged the sensitivity of cutting Meals on Wheels

    • After Trump revoked the federal freeze memo following widespread backlash in late January, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon told his War Room audience that “the left thinks they got a win,” adding, “Every congressional district, you’ve got Meals on Wheels.” He continued: “There are certain members of the working class that are MAGA supporters — voted for President Trump — that are, you know, use those programs. It’s just the way it is. There’s going to be some consternation.” After lamenting high costs of social welfare programs earlier in the show, Bannon said employers should “maybe not take in foreigners and maybe pay people more” so “they don’t need Meals on Wheels.” A major study from 2024 showed that increases in immigration do not drive down wages or raise unemployment for U.S.-born workers. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 1/31/25; American Immigration Council, 7/9/24]