MARC JACOBS
Hutch Post
Nearly 900 senior citizens in 10 Kansas counties will need to rely on new providers for their daily meals after the South Central Kansas Area Agency on Aging (SCKAAA) terminated its contract with Everfull, a Hutchinson-based nonprofit that has delivered meals for more than 50 years.
The affected counties include Chautauqua, Cowley, Elk, Greenwood, Harper, Kingman, McPherson, Sumner, Reno and Rice. While SCKAAA says services will continue with new providers, the decision will leave about 70 Everfull employees without jobs and end the nonprofit’s role in providing both Friendship Meals and Meals on Wheels in the region.
SCKAAA said the termination was due to Everfull overutilizing its meal program funding and failing to submit timely audits, which the agency said made it “impossible to request reallocation of federal and state funds” for the organization.
Everfull Executive Director Charles Johnston acknowledged the agency's concerns over spending, but emphasized that all funds were used on food, supplies, staff wages and administrative expenses.
“We realized in March that we would run out of money by June 30, even though funding was supposed to last until September,” Johnston said. “We reached out to SCKAAA to ask for help, thinking we were all working toward a solution. But then on June 3, we were told the contract was being canceled—without the chance to advocate for ourselves.”
Johnston said the agency did not respond to their request for support until May, and he was unaware contract termination was being considered until after the decision was made.
“There was never any indication they were unhappy with our services,” he said. “But when we started talking about the reality of funding—that’s when the conversation changed.”
He said rising costs of food, transportation and wages have put a strain on the program, and that the issue of delinquent audits stemmed from before his tenure. Everfull, he said, had recently hired a professional accounting firm to bring records up to date.
SCKAAA has secured an emergency $100,000 grant from the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services to maintain senior meal service during the transition. The agency said it is working with alternate providers to ensure continuity of care for seniors in the 10 counties.
“We are concerned enough for our employees, who we care deeply about, and also for our participants, that we needed to let people know with clarity that as of June 30, Everfull will no longer be providing Friendship Meals and Meals on Wheels,” Johnston said.
No announcement has been made yet regarding who the new providers will be.