The council provides nutritional meals to anyone who has an assessed need. The total number of hot and packed lunch meals delivered in 2024/25 was 62,444. Meals are delivered hot or frozen in specially adapted vehicles to homes 365 days of the year.
Tim Howard, BGL Rieber’s Central & South West regional sales manager, said: “The community meals teams have kept fighting to retain the service for many years. There are many vulnerable people in many communities who have come to rely on their daily hot meal, 365 days a year, not only for a healthy, nutritious hot meal but for maybe the only person they see and speak to that day.
“While we enjoy some spare time and have our Christmas break, like many others in the public sector, the Meals on Wheels service will continue to provide a vital human connection on what can be a very lonely time.
“Their fantastic drivers not only provide a meal but also look out for signs that help may be needed, thereby providing a valuable care service that helps take pressure off the NHS. Keeping people at home is a viable financial option for the country and the best medicine in many cases.”