The Texas Department of Agriculture is awarding approximately $2 million to home-delivered meal providers who serve meals to homebound elderly and disabled Texans living in 31 Central Texas counties, including Lampasas.

The grants are provided through TDA’s Texans Feeding Texans: Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program.

“Home-delivered meals are critical to the health and well-being of our fellow Texans who would go hungry without this food,” said Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples. “This funding would allow meal providers to continue their mission of fighting hunger in Texas, and I am proud to support such an honorable and necessary initiative.”

The home-delivered grant program was created during the 80th Legislative Session in 2007 to give extra funding to home-delivered meal providers. The grants, based partly on the number of meals eli- gible applicants served the year prior to applying, can only be used to supplement and expand existing services related to the delivery of meals.

“By providing food to elderly residents in their own homes, we help maintain their independence, which saves Texans about $30,000 in tax dollars annually per individual served,” said Staples. “I want to thank the legislators who approved this critical funding that enables us to assist Texans who need a helping hand.”

TDA will award almost 200 grants totaling $9.5 million to home-delivered meal providers across Texas who served over 13 million meals statewide last year.

Over the three-year life of the program, TDA has awarded nearly $30 million to these organizations.

Hill Country Community Action Association Inc., which covers the counties of Bell, Llano, Milam, Coryell, Mason, San Saba, Lampasas, Hamilton and Mills, is earmarked to receive just over $42,400.