I was really upset to hear that Croydon Labour has abruptly ended its Meals on Wheels service contract with Apetito. This leaves several hundred vulnerable people needing to find meal alternative provision at very short notice, and due to their vulnerability, it may be very difficult for them to do so unaided. It is just typical of Croydon Labour to make those least able have to effectively pay for the poor decisions that Labour has made.
The Meals on Wheels service has a very special place in my heart. The very first volunteering that I did in Croydon was with the Meals on Wheels service. In those days, volunteers would meet in the foyer of Fairfield Halls, working in pairs comprising a driver and a deliverer. We’d go through our list, making sure we knew our route and collect our food, freshly made in the Fairfield Halls kitchens. I usually worked on a route across Thornton Heath and Norbury and sometimes came down to Sanderstead. I was paired with a great driver who was recently widowed and would tell me tales of his youthful hi-jinks around Thornton Heath Pond, when there actually was a pond there!
I was the fortunate one of the pair of us who would take the food into each home. The people we visited would often be waiting for us to arrive, the only contact that many of them would have with the outside world. There were occasions when we had to help someone back on to their feet, help with a few quick tasks around the house, or even call an ambulance. The service that we provided was always about more that food
Recent reports state that whilst those who were previously served by Apetito will have to very quickly make alternative arrangements, the termination of the contract also means that their Croydon depot will be closed with the loss of 22 jobs. And after all this, the Council will save a very unimpressive £24,000. I have sat in too many meetings in the past year or so where the ‘loss’ of tens of millions of pounds is causally mentioned. The Council really does seem to have lost sight of what it is there for.
I know that Jason Perry, the Conservative candidate for Democratically Elected Mayor of Croydon is as disappointed as I am about this decision by the Labour Council.