Increasing Costs Push Up Canterbury Meals on Wheels Price

Canterbury District Health Board is reluctantly increasing the price of its Meals on Wheels service to assist in covering rising costs.

From 1 November, the price will increase from $3.80 in Christchurch and $3.30 in rural areas to $5.20 per meal.

At the Board’s monthly meeting today, CDHB General Manager Trevor English told Board members that the current cost of food, fuel and labour meant that unless the price was increased the Board would be facing a loss of nearly $200,000 for this financial year.

“The price of our service has not changed since 2000 yet costs have increased significantly in this time,” Mr English said.

A subsidy of $4.07 on each meal will continue to be paid by CDHB and people experiencing hardship will be able to apply for extra assistance in paying for the meals.

The Board also agreed today that from now charges should be reviewed every two years to reflect the Consumer Price Index.

People receiving Meals on Wheels include individuals recently discharged from hospital who require meals for a maximum of six weeks; people with disabilities or personal health needs who require meals beyond six weeks; and clients of primary health care services who need short or long term assistance.*

About 200,000 meals are delivered per annum in Christchurch city from the Hillmorton Hospital production kitchen. Another 22,000 and 2,400 are delivered from Ashburton Hospital and Rural Services respectively.

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Background

Meals on Wheels clients must meet the following access criteria:

Meals on Wheels are not means tested.