Christy McMillian, executive director of the Faulkner County Council on Aging, told the Budget and Finance Committee that county funding of $40,000 is used specifically for home‑delivered meals (Meals on Wheels) and serves roughly 270 active clients countywide.

“We have 270 clients on the program for home delivered meals in the county,” McMillian said. She added the program currently has a waiting list of 117 people who lack access to daily meals. McMillian told the committee that during COVID emergency funding the program served near 500 clients; federal and state funding levels have since dropped.

McMillian described the funding mix: the county’s $40,000 annual appropriation is used as a match to draw down Older Americans Act and other federal/state funds; the Council also receives Older Americans Act funding, state senior citizen funds, the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) for low‑income seniors and civil‑cigarette‑tax money restricted to meals and transportation (a 75/25 meals/transport split). She said the $40,000 is drawn down by the program at its federally set reimbursement rate for home‑delivered meals and does not go to capital purchases such as vehicle replacement.

Committee members asked what it would take to remove clients from the waiting list. McMillian estimated cost roughly by meal: she said meals are billed at about $8 each and that adding 117 clients could require roughly $40,000 per year for full coverage depending on service frequency and routes. She said many potential pick‑up options were curtailed after an audit because volunteers who were previously picking up meals for homebound clients now require background checks and formal volunteer onboarding, which constrained some informal routes.

McMillian said the City of Conway provides $92,000 annually for Conway-area services and that the council is pursuing bus grants and other funding sources; the council expects to take delivery of two buses under an 80/20 grant match but said rising vehicle costs have increased the local match burden. She characterized home‑delivered meals as the most urgent shortfall while transportation needs, often for dialysis and other time‑sensitive medical trips, remain high.

Committee members did not take formal action on the presentation but discussed possible county support to reduce the waiting list.