HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Just as the Pennyrile Area Development District and the Christian County Senior Center braced for drastic cuts to their senior meal program, Gov. Andy Beshear said he will add an additional $4 million to the statewide program for fiscal year 2027.
On July 22, Beshear announced an unexpected influx of state funds that will be applied to reverse recent cuts. Since the General Assembly passed the state budget in April, Kentucky underwent budget cuts to Medicaid, behavioral health services and senior meals. This is not the first time the senior meal program has been put at risk, with extreme cuts also announced last fiscal year before Gov. Andy Beshear reallocated funds.
Under PeADD, around 750 seniors in the region receive meals from Pennyrile Allied Community Services (PACS) five days a week. These hot meals are prepared and distributed by volunteers at the Christian County Senior Center to local seniors and those in surrounding counties in the region.
During the PeADD board meeting in Hopkinsville on June 8, potentially severe funding reductions to the senior home delivered meals program was addressed, which could result in a minimization of services and drastic cuts to their client list.
It is unclear at this time how much funding will be allocated to local services and if cuts will still be necessary.
Additional funding allocations from Beshear
The newfound funding is being made available through an unbudgeted $476 million budget surplus and an unexpected amount of corporate income tax payments totaling over $350 million, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
$255 million of these funds will be used to close the Medicaid gap and reverse the General Assembly’s initial cuts, fund the additional costs of existing Michelle P. Waiver slots for families and children with autism, and deposit over $400 million into the state’s Budget Reserve Trust Fund.
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