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

The catering team at Furness General Hospital currently runs the service Monday to Friday with the help of volunteers. The service launched in April 2014 and currently serves up to 100 meals per day.

It is looking for people to volunteer up to an hour on Mondays and Wednesdays to deliver meals. Volunteers using their own vehicle can claim mileage expenses through the Trust.

Tracy Litt, Catering Manager at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT), said: “Our volunteers are a vital part of keeping the Meals on Wheels service running, ensuring our customers receive their meals on time. Many of our customers see very few people and have commented that seeing a friendly face delivering their meals really makes their day.

“We need more volunteers to keep the service running over five days and to be able to offer the service to more people.

“All of our volunteers say that it is such a rewarding thing to do. If you are looking for a volunteer role, have a car and can spare up to an hour of your time, I would encourage you to get in touch. We’re also looking for volunteers for our reserve list.”

As well as making meals for patients at Furness 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. Dishes include meat and potato pie with beetroot and mushy peas, tomato and basil pasta bake, a cold option such as a salad and bread roll, and warm sponge pudding or cold fruit salad. They also offer specialist diets for people who are gluten-free or who require a soft consistency diet or a puree diet.

If you are interested in volunteering for the Meals on Wheels service in Barrow you can contact Tracy Litt at tracy.litt@mbht.nhs.uk or 01229491001.

The Catering team at Westmorland General Hospital launched a Meals on Wheels service in Kendal in 2020 which runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.