Mapping the provision of Meals on Wheels services in England: a scoping review

Meals on Wheels (MoWs) provide daily meals and social contact to adults who need support to live in the community. Many adults in England need help with shopping for food and preparing meals. MoWs could be essential for these individuals. In addition, MoWs could potentially lead to considerable savings for adult social care services and the NHS. However, many councils in England have stopped providing MoWs because of cuts in social care budgets. This leaves many individuals unable to access this essential service. To complicate matters further, there is no single model of MoWs provision. This makes it difficult to establish an evidence base to inform discussions about the role MoWs services have in contemporary social care. The proposed scoping review will explore the number and types of existing MoWs provision models that operate in England, which will help offer a comprehensive picture of provision of meals services for adults with care and support needs.