Developing the 'Meals on Wheels' Agenda

Dorset County Council (DCC) has decommissioned the contract with WRVS who previously delivered meals to the homes of people who have been care assessed as in 'substantial or critical' need. The contract ended on 31 March 2011. To replace this, we have developed opportunities for anyone to access food and nutrition, through private or voluntary sector meal delivery services (frozen, chilled, or hot meals), AND through accessing local lunch clubs, pubs or other services, or through a combination of the two.

A post has been created within the Dorset Partnership for Older People Programme (POPP) for a specialist Community Development Worker (CDW) to work with Dorset County Council Catering Services, to support this opportunity.

This post makes a key contribution to achieving the aims of the Dorset POPP programme/SAIL, working with older people to develop supportive neighbourhoods where older people can live, and receive appropriate and timely help and support to stay within their local community as long as they wish.

The Community Development Worker:

• worked with the individual needs of Meals on Wheels recipients to identify appropriate opportunities for access to food and meals according to their need. This included visiting each recipient with a Social Worker or relative/carer as appropriate, to undertake a unique assessment developed by the CDW
• maps existing lunch clubs and other communal eating opportunities
• develops new opportunities for access to food and meals by supporting emerging lunch clubs, opportunities through Day Centres, Schools, Pubs and Clubs etc
• works with older people and local agencies to find solutions to identified need
• ensures the needs of excluded individuals and groups are identified and met as part of this process

This has invariably created new opportunities within settlements and villages.

Directory of Eating Opportunities

A guide produced by Dorset POPP aims to help everyone aged over 50 eat regularly and well, wherever they live. The Eating Opportunities in Dorset (pdf, 646kb) (opens in a new window) directory is available online or in a booklet form from the POPP Community Development Worker, contact details are at the end of this page. The directory outlines options for meals delivered to your door, local lunch and supper clubs, and other food related get-togethers in your area. It also includes details of transport options to help you get to lunch events or to your local shops, and how to have groceries delivered to your door. This guide is constantly updated and also emailed out to a distribution list of over 100 individuals and groups on a regular basis.

Development of Eating Opportunities

Dorset POPP recognises that all people are different when it comes to food, we understand that some people like to have meals delivered to their home, some would rather eat out in company and some just require assistance to purchase their food. This is why we have been working with older people to ensure everyone 50+ can access food and nutrition in a way that suits them.

Dorset POPP has supported and encouraged the development of emerging lunch clubs, meal delivery services and other eating opportunities to improve access to food and nutrition for all older people in Dorset. Across the county there are now in excess of 100 lunch clubs as well as a number of private providers who can deliver hot, frozen and chilled meals to your door all over the county.

This new approach replaces the traditional WRVS 'Meals on Wheels' service, which has seen demand declining in recent years. And whereas that service was available only to people assessed by social care staff as being in 'substantial or critical' need, the new opportunities being developed can benefit everyone and anyone.

If there is no relevant club or eating opportunity in your village or community, why not help to set one up? Dorset POPP can offer funding of up to £2,000 to seed fund new opportunities identified by older people. For further information please contact the POPP Community Development Worker.

Meals on Wheels

The traditional Meals on Wheels Service was decommissioned slowly between September 2010 and March 2011 as it was only reaching a small proportion of those people who were assessed as being in 'substantial or critical' need. Each individual in receipt of a meals service was visited and supported to access a new solution tailored to their requirements. Many of the clients are now enjoying hot meals delivered more frequently, others opted to buy frozen meals so they could eat at the time they chose too, and some have started to attend lunch clubs.

Throughout the process new services were developed across much of the county so that all of Dorset's older people can choose to have a hot meal delivered to their door. Our work will not be complete until every older person in Dorset is able to access a hot meal on any day of the week. If you are involved with producing or supplying meals and wish to develop your services please get in touch with Jo to see if you can help provide meals for older people in Dorset.

For more information please see Food and Nutrition in the Community

• Community Development Worker
  Name: Jo Mitchard
  Email: j.mitchard@dorsetcc.gov.uk
  Tel: 01305 225920
  Mobile: 07919 515199
  Full details for Jo Mitchard