Cardiff Council's successful Meals on Wheels service is expanding to provide meals to residents in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Since 2014 when around a quarter of UK local authorities stopped offering a Meals on Wheels service to people who are older or vulnerable, Cardiff Council's service is bucking the trend and growing to ensure even more customers in the area can enjoy hot, nutritious food delivered to their homes.
For seven days a week, 365 days a year, friendly drivers can now deliver to customers in eastern parts of the Vale of Glamorgan including Dinas Powys, Sully, Llandough, Penarth and Wenvoe. As well as providing lunchtime meals that cater for a variety of diets and conditions, the team also carry out a caring welfare check for individual customers.
Cabinet Member for Social Care, Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Susan Elsmore, said: "This is a really positive move for our Meals on Wheel service - we are delighted that people in parts of the Vale of Glamorgan will now be able to benefit from this affordable community service as well as our customers in Cardiff.
"The service is about so much more than just delivering a meal, but also gives peace of mind to customers and their loved ones by providing vital social interaction and a caring welfare check.
"Our ability to extend our offer to serve people living in the eastern Vale also demonstrates the maturity of the partnerships within Cardiff and Vale Regional Partnership Board."
Customers can be referred by family, friends, neighbours, or health or social care professionals. To be eligible individuals must meet one of the following criteria:
- • Having difficulty preparing a meal safely
- • Liable to self-neglect or would eat an inappropriate diet without the service
- • Unable to shop for food
- • Have a mental or physical disability
- • Needing support due to recovery from hospitalisation or illness; carer illness or holiday, or bereavement.
The service is not just for people who are older - the youngest Meals on Wheels customer is 20, while the oldest is 102-years-old. Customers can choose when and how often they wish to receive meals.
For more information about the service, visit www.cardiff.gov.uk/mealsonwheels or call 029 2053 7080.