The Food Train: supporting older people to eat healthily at home

Introduction

Inability to go and do the weekly shopping can have a significant impact on the wellbeing of older people – apart from the inconvenience factor, it can also affect their health, as it means they may not be able to meet their nutritional requirements.

Accessibility is one of the three characteristics of food poverty – alongside affordability and education/cooking skills (click here for more information on barriers to older people meeting their nutritional requirements). Research indicates that those experiencing the greatest difficulties in food shopping are considered to be at the greatest nutritional risk (click here for more details).

To tackle this problem, The Food Train was established in 1995, with volunteers providing a grocery shopping delivery and home support service to older people to allow them to live independently at home. Created and driven by older people themselves, The Food Train began in Dumfries town but, due to the demand for its services, its expansion has been funded by the Scottish Government and local authorities, and it has since spread to Dumfries & Galloway, West Lothian, Stirling, and Dundee.