New Meals on Wheels service from April 2013

Anyone living in the Hampshire County Council area, over the age of 55 years, can choose to receive Meals on Wheels if they meet the criteria.

Choose Meals on Wheels if you meet at least one of the following criteria

• you are struggling to cook for yourself
• you have just come out of hospital
• you are a carer or relative who needs a break from cooking
• you are feeling unwell, either physically or mentally
• you can't get out to the shops

Some helpful information about the new service:

• it will be provided by our partner company apetito
• it will be available across the whole of the Hampshire County Council area (not in Southampton and Portsmouth)
• it will be available 365 days of the year
• you will be able to choose your main course and pudding from a menu of four options
• the subsidised cost for this two course meal will be £3.50
• the driver will be able to cut up the meals, provide a drink, encourage eating when required
• the driver will know what to do when they notice a cause for concern
• hot lunches can be delivered directly to your lunch club at no extra cost - for more information contact apetito directly
• the meals are delivered in an agreed regular slot between 11.45 - 1.45pm each day
• it will provide special dietary and faith need meals
• all meals meet the National Association of Care Catering Standards and are nutritionally balanced
• you can arrange for a Food and Friendship volunteer to visit at regular intervals to make lunchtimes more enjoyable and spend some time chatting about things that interest the customer and provide information and ideas of what is available in the local community

Request Meals on Wheels

Complete the Meals on Wheels request form to send your details to apetito our partner Meals on Wheels provider.

They will call you directly within 2 days to discuss your requirements for providing a hot main meal and pudding to your door.

Request Food and Friendship volunteer visits

Complete the Food and Friendship request section of the Meals on Wheels request form to arrange for regular visits from a friendly volunteer around mealtimes.

Request a change to your service

If you have an enquiry about the service or need to make a change to the service you receive please contact apetito directly

• Tel: 01962 779 338
  (Out of office hours answer machine)
• Email: hampshire.office@apetito.co.uk

Please note: Any meal cancellation has to be received by 10am on the morning of the delivery day, otherwise you will be charged for that days meal.

Help with shopping

A friend, neighbour, relative or carer might help.

Or you could contact Age Concern Hampshire Information and Advice line for assistance with finding local voluntary organisations that could help you with shopping

• Tel: 0800 328 7154 (10am - 3pm Monday to Friday)
• Email: info@ageconcernhampshire.org.uk

It is also worth asking a Good Neighbours group if they can help you.

• Search the directory - on the Good neighbours website to look for help with shopping

Supermarket shopping online

Many supermarkets offer home delivery for foods bought online and you could choose frozen meals that can be heated in a microwave or a conventional oven as an alternative.

Choose one of the following supermarkets to see what groceries are on offer via their online shopping:

• Asda
• Ocado
• Sainsbury's
• Tesco
• Waitrose

Home food deliveries

You might prefer to use one of the following home food delivery services:

• Wiltshire Farm foods
• Oakhouse Foods

Of course there are many other home food delivery services - just check the Yellow pages or Yell .com (Yellow pages online)