Volunteers needed to help Meals on Wheels service expand.

A Meals on Wheels service which is helping Kendal’s elderly and most isolated people to continue living independently is reaching out for more volunteers to come on board to help expand the service to five days a week.

The catering team at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) currently runs the service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with the help of volunteers and members of Kendal Rotary Club.

The service launched in November 2020 and currently serves up to 10 meals per day.

It is looking for people to volunteer for up to an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays to deliver meals, using their own vehicles but claiming mileage expenses through the Trust.

Tracy Litt, Catering Manager at UHMBT, said: “We want to be able to expand the service and help more people in Kendal who are elderly or feeling vulnerable or isolated. All of the feedback we have had from our customers has been positive – they love the meals and seeing a friendly face delivering them.

As well as making meals for patients at Westmorland General Hospital and its staff, the catering team spends up to three hours a day making dishes for the Meals on Wheels, using freshly sourced products from local suppliers.

They also offer specialist diets for people who are gluten-free, require a soft consistency diet or a puree diet.

If you are interested in volunteering for the Meals on Wheels service in Kendal, please contact Tracy Litt: tracy.litt@mbht.nhs.uk or 01229491001.