Hawai'i's largest Meals on Wheels program expects to cut 233 O'ahu senior citizens from its home-delivery food service in three weeks because extra state money it has relied on for years will dry up next month.

Lanakila Meals on Wheels already has a waiting list of 269 senior citizens, which is certain to grow next month when it starts reluctantly eliminating people from the program, said Remy Rueda, Lanakila Meals on Wheels' director.

"We really haven't had to make these kind of cuts before," Rueda said. "The need is already great so we'll be having even more seniors who don't eat."

Instead of serving 727 clients, Lanakila instead will deliver food to only 494 low-income senior citizens, Rueda said.

Clients in dire situations will be eliminated from Lanakila last, Rueda said, such as those with medical conditions who live alone and with incomes below $1,000 per month.

Those in the best financial and physical shape, living with a spouse and with other means of support are the most likely to be dropped first, Rueda said.

Starting July 1, Lanakila will no longer receive $238,000 in so-called "carryover" funds it gets from other state-financed programs that didn't use the money each year, said Karen Miyake, who administers state and federal funds to Lanakila Meals on Wheels as the county executive on aging for Honolulu's Elderly Affairs Division.

"It's like having a savings account," Miyake said. "When you don't have enough money, you keep using your savings account until it's gone. Well, now we no longer have the state carryover funds to sustain us."

Similar programs on the Neighbor Islands receive most of their funds from their counties and don't face the same kind of budget cut next month and have no plans to eliminate clients, they said.

ONE MEAL A DAY

O'ahu's other major program, Hawai'i Meals on Wheels, will see a similar but much smaller funding drop next month.

It delivers meals to 250 to 300 seniors each day and expects to lose $3,084 in carryover funds in three weeks, which translates into 643 meals over the course of a year, said Claire Shimabukuro, Hawai'i Meals on Wheels' executive director.

"Three thousand dollars doesn't seem like a lot of money," Shimabukuro said, "but it is when it affects seniors. Many of the people we see will only eat that one meal that we provide."

Unlike Lanakila, Hawai'i Meals on Wheels does not plan to eliminate clients and hopes to make up the difference through donations and fundraising.

"We're going to have to do a lot more scraping for money," Shimabukuro said. "It's definitely going to affect us. But we have no plans to turn anybody away."

Senate Bill 1916, which passed the Legislature and sits on Gov. Linda Lingle's desk, would release $500,000 to the state Office on Aging for various programs.

The nonprofit Lanakila Meals on Wheels program would be eligible for some of that money. Once that money comes in, Lanakila will be able to resume meal service to 61 of the 233 senior citizens cut off on July 1, Rueda said.

"Hawai'i's senior population continues to age faster than the Mainland," Rueda said. "For some of our clients, the only well-balanced meal they receive all day comes from us."

Yesterday, 91-year-old Edna Franken took a tiny bite of a barbecued chicken meal delivered to her Liliha apartment by Lanakila Meals on Wheels and in a small, halting voice declared it "delicious."

"I don't know what we'd do without them," Franken said of Lanakila and the people who bring her food each week.

But next month Franken and her 88-year-old husband, Ernest, may be forced to find out.

"He used to do all of the cooking," Edna said. "But now he can't see anymore."

She then looked over a tray filled with chicken, rice, salad and an orange, surrounded by bread, butter and milk provided by Lanakila.

"This is our whole big meal," she said. "I really thank them for the good meals they bring."

SENIORS PROTECTED

Robert Fraser, 65, lives alone and relies on the five hot meals he receives Monday through Friday from Lanakila and the two delivered frozen meals that carry him through the weekends.

"It's really been a blessing," said Fraser, who has been on disability for 25 years because of scoliosis that forces him to walk with a cane. "I eat once per day and this is it."

Fraser lives alone and, like other Lanakila clients, looks forward to his daily visitor from Lanakila.

He learns about their lives and loves to share his.

"I delight in talking," Fraser said. "I love the sound of my voice."

Lanakila's drivers do much more than just deliver food, Rueda said. They monitor clients' overall well-being, make mental notes about their appearance and hygiene, look for possible signs of abuse and frequently refer people to social service agencies for a range of needs, from financial to physical.

"It's not just the meal," Rueda said. "We link them to food stamps, Social Security, social services and report suspicious activity to the police."

The food deliveries often are the only social contact that a person has each day, said Shimabukuro of Hawai'i Meals on Wheels.

"Food is so basic, and bringing it to people who need it the most affects people emotionally," Shimabukuro said.

"A society that can't provide that really needs to look at its priorities."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.