No one likes to be the bearer of bad news. But facing reality and making hard choices is something our community has been forced to do these past 12 months, and CommUnify is no exception. It is with great sadness we announce that effective July 1, 2021, CommUnify plans to suspend our Senior Nutrition Program, which has served low-income seniors in our community for 47 years. Why? Lack of funding.
For the past decade, this vital program has been running at a deficit — not only due to the increasing minimum wage, costs of food, and transportation, but also because of the rise in need by the baby boom generation, often referred to as a “silver tsunami.” Yet our funding from all branches of government — county, state, and federal — has been cut or remained status quo. This issue is not limited to Santa Barbara County or even California. In 2019, AARP’s Public Policy Institute concluded that the Older Americans Act (OAA), which provides funding for this program, “has failed to keep up with inflation and increased demand from a rapidly aging population.” While we are grateful for the federal funding we receive to feed seniors, no nonprofit organization can operate a program that only receives 40-45 percent of the funding needed to provide services. It is simply not sustainable.
Since 2011, CommUnify has absorbed nearly $4 million in unfunded expenses, covering deficits with our reserves in order to maintain this countywide meal service, but we can no longer operate in a financial hole, as it is threatens the long-term financial stability of the organization. The only way to continue providing nutritious meals to our low-income seniors, many who are homebound, is with an additional $600,000-$700,000 in permanentfunding. Even with this amount, our organization would still be committing to fundraise approximately $400,000-$500,000 annually just to break even.