SALYERSVILLE – With budget cuts putting many of the senior center’s programs in jeopardy, a local city councilman is holding a fundraiser to help continue Meals on Wheels.
Earlier this month Magoffin County Senior Citizens Center Director Marlene Howard announced that they had been notified that their budget had been cut $71,000.
“We knew they were coming, but we just didn’t know how much,” Howard said in her weekly column that week. “Now we are going to have to figure out where we are going to make cuts in our budget to compensate for this loss of funding.”
To put it into perspective, the senior center’s raw food cost is more than $75,000 per year, and they served 25,583 meals during the 2026 fiscal year, from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.
“It looks like we are going to have to cut that in half,” Howard said. “Every day we get calls from people who need meals on wheel. All we can do is the intake forms and put them on a waiting list until we get this figured out.”
While they are looking into grants they may be eligible to apply for, Salyersville City Councilman Paul Montgomery, who has held many local fundraisers over the years, announced this week that he will be raising funds for the Magoffin County Senior Citizens Center’s Meals on Wheels program.
“They provide a very valuable service to the seniors of Magoffin County,” Montgomery said. “Sometimes this is the only hot, nutritious meal they get a day. This program was such a blessing to my mother when she was alive.”
The average cost of food for one senior on the program is $60, so it would cost $720 to cover one senior for a year.
Montgomery said he hopes to raise enough to cover at least two seniors’ meals with the program for a year.
Montgomery pitched in the first $100 and will be taking donations until August 7, when he plans to turn over the funds raised to the senior center.
Anyone who would like to donate to the fundraiser can send money through Apple Pay (606-424-6302) or through PayPal (@JeanieHoward). People can also donate to the Magoffin County Senior Citizens Center directly by mailing a check to P.O. Box 888, Salyersville, KY 41465.
Follow the Magoffin County Senior Citizens on Facebook for their upcoming fundraisers, such as a yard sale that will be held Monday through Wednesday next week or Community Day activities. The SI prints a column called “Senior Happenings” each week on page A5 to outline current issues facing local seniors, as well as programs available to them. We also print a menu and activity calendar on page A3 every week, as well, so be sure to check them out!
