COCOA, Fla. — Officials with a Brevard County nonprofit dedicated to feeding seniors in need say the organization is feeling a federal funding pinch.

They are hoping other in the community can help feed some of the county’s most vulnerable people.

What You Need To Know

Aging Matters in Brevard officials say the organization is experiencing increasing costs with funding levels that are staying flat

The Adopt a Senior Society is an Aging Matters initiative, and works by letting community memebers help pay the costs to get seniors off the Meals on Wheels wait list

Currently, there are more than 300 senioes in Brevard County on the wait list for Meals on Wheels

Shari Tabat, a longtime real estate agent in the area, says she contributes to a lot of causes, including collecting food for animals in need.

“I think it’s really important to become a role model in my community,” she said.

Tabat said that when she found out about a new Aging Matters in Brevard initiative a month ago, she stepped up to help and became the first to donate to the Adopt a Senior Society.

Her $2,000 pledge took a 92-year-old man off the Meals on Wheels wait list.

“I got to adopt (him) for a year, which is cool,” Tabat said. “I got to meet him and talk to him, that this really means something to him.”

There are currently more than 300 seniors on the wait list from all over the county.

They are classified in Levels from 1-5 based on nutritional need, with 5 being the most at risk.

Aging Matters in Brevard president and CEO Tom Kammerdener says that for the first time, Level 5 seniors are on the list.

“A senior that can’t leave their home, have medical issues, and they are making that decision whether they are going to eat or take their medicine, they can’t cook for themselves and they need it the most,” Kammerdener said.

Expenses going up for Aging Matters, and with funding remaining flat, Kemmerdener said the organization is treating that as a cut.

He said federal grants are also on hold, and because federal workers are not being paid, that donation source has dried up.

“They’re contributors, they aren’t contributing, not donating, because they are waiting for their paychecks,” he said. “That also affects what we have coming in.”

Tabat encourages others to help take area seniors off the Meals on Wheels wait list.

“Please, adopt a senior for a year, it will do the community good, it will help the senior, and it will make your heart feel really good,” she said.