The North Shoalhaven's Meals on Wheels group will not make people wait for food, despite an increase in demand for its services.
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North Shoalhaven Meals on Wheels has more customers and delivering more meals than ever before but is committed to supporting the local community.
"We have had a 10 per cent increase in the meals we are serving to our local community," Manager of North Shoalhaven Meals on Wheels Lisa Burns said.
The North Shoalhaven group is not the only Meals of Wheels group juggling with an increase for its services.
The ABC this week reported some groups had been forced to fundraise 'to keep up with phenomenal demand of an ageing population'.
A Federal Government agency, according to the ABC, has told Meals on Wheels to put new clients on a waiting list.
This will not happen locally.
"North Shoalhaven Meals on Wheels will never put people on a waiting list to receive healthy nutritious meals that support them to remain in their own homes and avoid hospitalisation or residential care," Ms Burns said.
"We know due to the increase in older people moving to our beautiful part of the world there will be more and more demands on our services.
"The suggestion that we can put people on a wait-list to receive meals is intolerable and would go against all the values that we stand for at Meals on Wheels.
"That is why we need to make sure all of our services are sustainable."
"I think nobody would like to imagine a community without Meals on Wheels"
- Lisa Burns
Meals on Wheels also makes sure the food it delivers is delicious and nutritious.
"The great thing about Meals on Wheels is not just that we run a quality food service, but all of our meals meet the National Meal Guidelines," Ms Burns said.
"We know that older Australians need to eat well to age well.
"We are an organisation that saves the government money. For example, research from the University of Wollongong has shown it is much easier and cost-efficient to prevent malnutrition in older adults than to treat it.
"Most importantly our service will improve the quality of life and confidence of older people to live independently for longer."
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Meals on Wheels has been a long-term supporter of the community and some groups are celebrating over 60 years assisting the region's most vulnerable members.
"I think nobody would like to imagine a community without Meals on Wheels," Ms Burns said.
"North Shoalhaven Meals on Wheels supports over 300 older Australians and people with a disability and delivers over 40 000 meals and this number is increasing.
"How do we do this with only two fulltime staff?
"We have over 400 amazing volunteers who support every part of Meals on Wheels."
North Shoalhaven Meals on Wheels is looking to improve upon the already amazing work it does.
"We have recently been working towards a meal distribution centre so we can improve the services by offering more affordable and diverse healthy meals in the Illawarra and South Coast," Ms Burns said.
"We have already received guaranteed funding for a walk-in freezer and refrigerated truck, but we are still seeking a small amount of recurrent funding to operate the centre."
The Meal on Wheels manager says it makes financial sense for them to get more government assistance.
"We believe increased investment by the Australian Government in meal support services will reduce demand for more expensive aged care services and relieve pressure on public hospital systems," Ms Burns said
"So yes, we are calling on the Australian Government to support Meals on Wheels and think proactively not reactively.
"Let's fix our meal support system before it becomes broken."
