Meals on Wheels program cuts ties with Housing Authority

By DAVID LOPEZ
Special to the NEWS

After decades of service in the Resaca City, the highly tauted Meals on Wheels program served its last meals at the San Benito Housing Authority on Friday, December 28th.
Meals on Wheels is a nationwide program that delivers meals to individuals unable to provide for or prepare their own meals. That program partners with Amigos Del Valle, locally. Amigos Del Valle of the Rio Grande Valley is a non-profit which facilitates and delivers those meals throughout the entire Valley. Most of the program’s clientele are elderly, though others who meet the requirements are eligible for assistance.
Amigos Del Valle served San Benito at the Community Building on Heywood Street until 2015. Since, it served its meals Monday through Friday at the San Benito Housing Authority for up to 30 people a day, most of them elderly.
But as of October, the lease between the two institutions faced vague issues, forcing Amigos Del Valle to look elsewhere for a center, said Amigos Del Valle Executive Director Alex Guerra.
“It was a surprise because the City, Housing Authority, and Amigos came together in 2015 for this agreement, but I received notification that our lease wasn’t gonna be renewed,” said Guerra.
The news led Amigos to the San Benito Community Building again, though the rent had nearly doubled to $100 a day, Guerra explained.
“The price used to be around $1,000 a month back then, and now it would cost more than $2,000 to operate Monday through Friday at $100 a day,” said Guerra.
The price tag is currently too much for Amigos as they rely on donations, grants, and volunteers, Guerra explained.
According to reports, the original fee for the community building is $350 a day, though the City lowered it to $100 in an attempt to reach a satisfactory medium.
A statement from the City Manager Manuel De La Rosa said, “The City is not offering a lease. The City is offering to rent out the community center at a reduced amount. The ADV had an agreement with the housing authority that was expiring and the organization approached the City for options. City administration offered the rental of the center; however, it cannot disrupt the other programs that are currently being offered at the center, nor can it restrict the potential utilization of the facility by residents and visitors planning community-wide events. Therefore, the rental is limited to two weeks at a time to allow others to use the city facility. The building is also utilized as a voting site for local, county, state, and federal elections.”
When asked why there was a cut with Amigos Del Valle, executive director of the San Benito Housing Authority Yvette Nieto said there was no intentional cut on the Housing Authority’s part but rather the Memorandum of Understanding held between both institutions expired.
“Our Memmorandum of Understanding (MOU) ended in December. It’s on a year to year basis and it wasn’t renewed,” she said.
Nieto declined to elaborate further on why the lease wasn’t renewed, but she did say that the MOU was not renewed because the building space is not big enough, adding that the Housing Authority is looking to renovate all its spaces and properties soon.
Amigos Del Valle operates out of Edinburg though its main kitchen is located in San Benito’s industrial park close to McCoy’s. The kitchen produces the 2500 meals per day that are delivered to cities across the Valley. The closing of the partnership disrupts the route and transportation of Meals on Wheels, said Guerra.With the service terminated in San Benito, eligible residents will have to travel to the neighboring towns of Harlingen or Brownsville to receive a free meal. Residents can sign up for meal delivery or catch a ride to the free meals in Harlingen at 402 New Hampshire Street. Amigos Del Valle provides transportation to the centers.
Negotiations between Amigos Del Valle and the City of San Benito continue indefinitely, leaving the future of its presence in San Benito unknown.
“I hope people can support the Meals on Wheels program. It’s a very good program that we also dedicate to veterans. This is what we want to promote, and hopefully we’ll have a place to serve people in need in San Benito again,” said Guerra.