Website of the UK government

Please note that this website has a UK government accesskeys system.

Public services all in one place

Main menu

Saturday, 26 May 2012

Page menu

Browse by subject

Browse by people

Home and community

Meals at home services

If you have difficulty cooking meals for yourself, your council and other organisations can deliver ready-made meals to your home. This service is sometimes known as 'meals on wheels'. Find out if you qualify for council meals at home and how the meals will be delivered to you.

Do you qualify for council meals at home?

If you would like to receive meals at home through your council, you will need to contact your council’s social services department. They will carry out an assessment to find out what your needs are and tell you if you are eligible for meals at home.

See ‘Health and social care assessments’ to find out what an assessment involves and how to contact your local council's social services department.

How the council meals at home scheme works

There is normally a charge for meals at home services. You will need to contact your council to find out what this is, as each council charges differently.

A range of meals is available, taking into account people's cultural and religious requirements, personal preferences and dietary needs.

Once the social services team has agreed that you can receive meals at home, you should receive a simple 'service agreement'. The agreement will say:

on which days you will receive meals
how much you need to pay
how to contact the manager of the service

You may be offered frozen meals, which you can put in the freezer and eat later, instead of hot meals. Hot meals are usually only delivered every day if you can't manage the frozen meals service.

You may also be able to borrow equipment to reheat the meal yourself and a small freezer if you need it.

Find out more about meals at home

The following link lets you enter details of where you live. It then takes you to your local authority website where you can find out more about meals at home.

Find out about mobile meals service where you live Opens new window

If you don’t qualify for council meals

If you aren’t eligible for your council’s meal delivery service, you can still get low-priced, nutritionally balanced meals delivered to your home.

There are a number of companies that do this – search online for ‘home delivered meals for the elderly’ to find them. You could also ask your council for advice, as they may have a list of local companies providing a meal service.