Innovation: Meals with Mates

Australia

AAI Domains:

• Participation in society (social connectedness)

• Independent, healthy and secure living (independent living)

Older people need good quality nutrition to maintain their health and well-being and are at greater risk of social isolation and loneliness which presents a major public health challenge. However, the predominant form of existing provision, providing food for older people through communal meals in community centres or ‘meals on wheels’ delivered to individual’s homes, doesn’t adequately meet the needs of older people for good food and quality social interaction.

Meals with Mates is an inventive programme developed by The Australian Centre for Social Innovations (TACSI) in conjunction with older people in Adelaide during 2013 to address the related issues of good nutrition, social isolation and loneliness by promoting strong social connections. It is a community based solution that involves a specialist convenor, who can be a paid worker or a trained volunteer, recruiting older people through voluntary organisations, then providing training and a step-by-step guide to the whole programme.

The convenor discusses with older people what type of food they like, their experiences and social interests to inform an individual profile for ‘gatherings’ where a small number of older people meet for a meal either in a participant’s home or at a social venue. The convenor also builds partnerships with the local municipality and businesses, such as taxi companies and cafés or restaurants who can provide goods or services that enable older people to participate in Meals with Mates, and organises the calendar for gatherings through an online system that is circulated on a weekly basis.

The weekly menu of gatherings outlines the time and location, what to expect in terms of food and the interests of people who choose to attend. Older people can act as a host for a gathering, attend one hosted in another person’s home, local café or restaurant and enjoy the benefits of a good meal and interesting company. The Meals with Mates project has only been operating for a couple of years but has mobilised several hundred older people and dozens of local business to participate in the programme and there is anecdotal evidence of benefits to older people although a rigorous evaluation is required to demonstrate effectiveness over time.

Meals with Mates is likely to have positive effects in the social connectedness and independent living domains of the Active Ageing Index and if the convenor is a volunteer it would also extend to voluntary activity. Although it is only at a pilot stage, Meals with Mates has potential promise as an innovative alternative to existing methods of providing older people with meals and social interaction that is worthy of further development and research to assess its impact on older people’s health and well-being.

TACSI website