The Flathead County Agency on Aging avoided cuts to its home-delivered meals program after receiving a funding boost from the state Legislature — the first in a decade.  

The money will also help keep afloat the eight other agencies across the state that make up the Montana Area Agencies on Aging Association, which runs senior centers and offers in-home assistance, caregiver support and Medicare consultations. 

While federal funding through the Older Americans Act has somewhat kept pace with inflation, state funding has remained stagnant despite climbing operational costs and a growing senior population. For 2025, around $6.7 million in state funding was doled out to the agencies, which is roughly $500,000 more than what was given by the 2015 Legislature. 

During that time, costs rose 32% due to inflation, according to data from the Area Agencies on Aging Association. In the county, employee and food costs more than doubled since 2019, according to data from the Flathead County Agency on Aging.  

But the senior assistance organizations received what they asked for — an additional $2 million per year, signed off by Gov. Greg Gianforte in the summer and budgeted in the state’s general fund.  

Without the money, about 630 older Montanans were at risk of losing services, “resulting in crises and forcing many prematurely into Medicaid long-term care,” wrote the association in its funding request. 

“This was a catch up ask to maintain our levels,” said Carla Dyment, director of the Flathead County Agency on Aging. 

Of the state’s $2 million allocation, $330,000 in annual funding was directed to the county organization, bringing its funding up to a little more than $800,000. The extra dollars filled a funding gap that could have resulted in cuts to the Meals on Wheels program. The service delivers hot and healthy food to hundreds of seniors Monday through Friday.  

“It’s a sigh of relief,” Dyment said.  

The Meals on Wheels program delivers to about 630 individuals countywide each year. The agency also runs several community dining locations that serve an average of 1,200 seniors a year. The funding will go toward personnel and food costs tied to both programs.  

With Covid-relief dollars dried up and the future of federal programs under the Trump administration in doubt, Dyment put a waitlist on the Meals on Wheels program in February for the first time ever. The list reached up to 20 people.  

She was predicting a $250,000 to $300,000 gap to maintain the current level of service for the nutrition programs. Before the funding was allocated, Dyment said she felt like she was treading water.  

“We rely so heavily on government funding that it was very hard to make decisions long term,” she said. “My goal during that time was to do everything we could to just not cut services to folks. And we achieved that goal which I’m really proud of.”  

The agency also relies on community donations. Four hogs and two sheep were bought by the Whitefish Credit Union, Three Rivers Bank, Big Sky Animal Clinic and M and C Tire from the Northwest Montana Fair and Rodeo and donated to the program. The livestock equated to 5,000 meals, Dyment said.  

MEALS ON Wheels keeps seniors from being placed in facility-based care prematurely, which increases costs to the state, Dyment said.  

“What they really need is maybe just a meal in their home. They don’t need that level of care,” she said. “There needs to be a middle, and the more that we support that middle, the better overall experience.”  

The human connection of getting hand-delivered meals is appreciated by seniors as well, according to volunteer drivers.  

“When we deliver the meals, we have to make sure that we physically see them, talk to them, so that we know they’re OK,” said Janaya Okerlund, who delivers meals with her husband on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  

“After doing it for a few years, you really see the need out there,” she said.  

About 28% of older Montanans live alone, many of whom don’t have family to help them, according to data provided by the Montana Area Agencies on Aging Association.  

Dyment predicts the association will have to come back with another ask from the state Legislature eventually. 

“We all see the writing on the wall that the need will continue to increase over the next several years because we are the fifth oldest state in the country,” she said. “People will continue to age into needing these types of services.”   

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].  

    Meals on Wheels volunteer Lauren LaFontaine packages the hot meals into insulated bags for delivery at the Kalispell Senior Center on Friday, Jan. 31. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
  

    Beatrice O'Donnell smiles as she receives her lunch delivered by Meals on Wheels volunteer Bill Gardner at her home in Kalispell on Friday, Jan. 31. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)