Senior centers across the Bluegrass State are now facing a budgetary shortfall that has many cutting programs and reducing meal delivery services that employees say do more than just keep enrollees fed.

During a recent Team Kentucky press conference, Gov. Andy Beshear detailed how the roughly $10 million shortfall came to be. He said that many centers' meal delivery programs, which are funded by one of the 15 area development districts in the state, evolved during COVID-19 to support more enrollees. At the time, the funding to cover the growth in services was provided by the American Rescue Plan Act – the federal funding solution that aided local governments in addressing economic impacts of the pandemic.

Kentucky's state legislature budgeted general funds for the senior meal programs af

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