Meal Delivery Services for the Elderly: A Complete Guide
Why Meal Delivery Can Make a Difference for Older People
Receiving meals direct to your door, as opposed to having to prepare them yourself, can be beneficial in many ways. They can often work out cheaper than if you were to purchase all of the raw ingredients yourself, and you don’t have to cook them from scratch either!
The delivery driver will also be a valuable source of contact for someone who may be living alone, and some companies even offer a welfare check as part of their meal delivery.
Who Can Benefit From Food Delivery Services for the Elderly?
All older people can benefit from food delivery services for the elderly. This is because not everyone wants to cook at home from scratch or has the energy to spend hours in the kitchen. Meal deliveries now offer a variety of different options, such as vegan, low sugar and salt, frozen, or long-life. Whether you live alone or not, it can be a welcome distraction when the doorbell rings, especially when the driver is dropping off a box of delicious goodies!
Types of Meal Delivery Services for Seniors
Storage options, such as frozen, fresh, or long-life, can suit everyone’s individual preferences. The majority can be cooked in just a few minutes via a microwave too. Most services also ensure that their meals are nutritionally balanced and will offer special dietary options.
The Best Meal Delivery Services for the Elderly
There are various meal delivery services on the market, offering different options. Perhaps you want frozen meals, ready to pop into the microwave, or you might prefer meals that can be stored in an ordinary cupboard, with long use-by dates.
Wiltshire Farm Foods
Established in 1991, Wiltshire Farm Foods offer a range of over 340 meals and deserts that can be cooked in the microwave or oven. They offer free delivery throughout the UK.
Oakhouse Foods
Oakhouse Foods have come a long way since 1994, yet haven’t lost sight of their core value of making your mealtimes easier. All dishes are flash-frozen to lock in goodness and flavour.
Parsley Box
With Parsley Box there’s no need for a fridge or a freezer! They’ll deliver cupboard stored meals straight to your door which are ready to eat within minutes – and with no subscription required.
Cook
With single portion or multi-portion options, planning meals for the week for you and a partner has never been so easy. B-Corp certified and focussed on community, Cook has branches across the UK.
Apetito
Apetito has been delivering high quality meals to local authorities for decades. Fully cooked meals ready to eat can be arranged through your local Meals on Wheels service, for hot meals at home.
Fresh ingredient delivery
If you are keen to cook from scratch, services such as HelloFresh or Gousto may be more suitable. A box of ready-measured ingredients will be delivered to your home, ready for you or your carer to prepare.
What to Look for in a Meal Delivery Service for Older People
By receiving your meals directly at home, you can avoid worrying about sourcing raw ingredients as well as the hassle of preparing them. Ready-prepared meals can be cooked in a matter of minutes, so you can choose what you want to eat just before you eat it.
If you have a caregiver, then it can also benefit them for you to have a meal delivery service. It will leave them additional time to carry out other tasks for you rather than spending hours in the kitchen, meaning they can focus on keeping you company and your house tidy.
How Home Care Can Support Mealtimes Alongside Meal Delivery
As one of the UK’s top home care providers for elderly care at home, we have 155 branches across England and Wales and local care teams that will ensure you live your best life possible at home. With us, your support is flexible if your needs change and we can offer care on both a visiting and live-in care basis, from just 30-minutes per week.
We understand that it can be very difficult to ask for help when you’ve always managed independently, however if you’re finding yourself struggling with age-related frailties, the after-effects of a hospital stay or you’d just appreciate some companionship, talk to our friendly customer care team today.
FAQs About Meal Delivery for the Elderly
The meal service that will be right for you, may not be the best for someone else. This is because some people want frozen meals while others would prefer long-life products that can be left in a cupboard for a long time. Fortunately, there is bound to be a meal delivery service that ticks all the boxes for you.
Yes, many meal delivery services cater for special diets. These include gluten-free, low salt, low sugar, low-fat, vegan, and vegetarian. Some may also offer textured food for people with dysphagia. It’s worth looking at the website of the company you’re interested in or calling their customer service number to find out what they offer.
If you order food in advance you (or a loved one) can make sure you have enough meals to last you for a set period. Many meal delivery services will set up a rolling delivery schedule for you so that you don’t have to remember to reorder. If you have Meals on Wheels, then they will let you know the days on which they’ll deliver to you so you can have a contingency plan for days they don’t.