Less Work, More Choice For Seniors to Eat Well
Facts of life: some seniors reach a point where they can't/won't cook but they still want to eat tasty but healthy food. Meanwhile, they enjoy shopping and like having an excuse to get out of the house if they can.
There has long been multiple choice from suppliers of meals on wheels in the UK and frozen ready meals delivered to the door. But as far back as January 2011, the Daily Express reported that one local council was cutting its meals on wheels service and advising the elderly to buy ready meals from their local supermarket.
Although an unrelated development, a new packaged brand, On the Menu, claims to be "the first retail brand to produce a range of dietitian-approved main courses and desserts developed especially for seniors." The company has worked with what it describes as industry experts to specifically meet the needs of older people.
Of an estimated four million over-75s living alone in the UK, it is believed that almost 20 percent are malnourished because of difficulties cooking and accessing foods that are "appealing, safe to eat for an older digestive system and providing adequate nutrition," according to The Grocer.
On the Menu's ingredients and cooking instructions are easy to read with large front of pack messaging and an easy to grip film pull tab. Recipes follow guidelines from both the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research. Each provides one of the five-a-day vegetable target, is high in protein and low in fat. They are all free of MSG, GMO ingredients and typical irritants for those with digestive system disorders or other sensitivities such as colitis.
The manufacturer aims to sell primarily through wholesalers supplying independent retailers, although The Grocer reports that two supermarket chains have started trials. Using easy to reach local shops is a big sales point.
What was described as a backlash from pensioners' groups to the elimination of meals on wheels pointed out that if people were able to get to shops, they would not have needed a hot meal delivered in the first place. On the Menu hopes their products will be as easy to obtain as to digest.