Meals on wheels firm stops service
More than 700 vulnerable people could be left without hot food after August 1.
This is after the county’s biggest independent meals on wheels company pulled the plug on its delivery service.
Apetito Ltd has been serving customers a single hot meal with a dessert since 1995.
But last week customers were told it will discontinue its service – instead offering frozen options from sister company Wiltshire Farm Foods.
This is because the lease on its Snodland depot is expiring and its Kent County Council contract was scaled back considerably last year.
The firm had worked for KCC since 2002, but is no longer serving the number of customers it needs to in order to stay afloat.
In a statement it said: “Our premises lease expires this August and we were given notice from the landlord. We have been unable to find other suitable premises, despite best efforts.”
The company’s Thanet depot will also close with the final deliveries set for July 31.
Customers who relied on this
service will have to seek different options.
One is Larkfield resident Ann Langridge, 85, who suffers from Alzheimers.
She was fully reliant on the company to provide her with a meal a day.
Daughter-in-law, Michelle Langridge, 52, is worried as without the service she may forget to feed herself.
She said: “I don’t know how we’re going to manage, there doesn’t seem to be anything else in Larkfield other than this
company. As soon as I got the letter, I did everything I could to find a solution but it seems our only other option is frozen microwave meals.
“These aren’t a good replacement due to my mother-in-law’s condition – she would either forget to put the food in the microwave or forget to take it out.
“We’d instruct her over the phone but once she puts it down she would forget we were having a conversation.”
Michelle lives with her family in Walderslade and so a service like Apetito’s is the best way for her to make sure her Ann gets fed.
The cleaning company owner has been left with very few options.
She continued: “I spoke to the council who said to speak to Age UK who do have a similar service which is near but only seems to cover the Maidstone area.
“We need to find something quick though as we haven’t got much time until there are no more hot meals.”
Thanet-based IT engineer, Colin Ball, 42, believes the company hasn’t considered the impact this service has on people.
He feels it is chasing profits by opting to replace cooked meals with frozen food.
He said: “For a lot of these people their daily visit from the hot food delivery driver is the only contact they have with people but now they want to take that away.
“Some of the clients also don’t have a next-of-kin and so these drivers sometimes act as parttime carers to these people.
“I know drivers who have had these people, who are 91 and vulnerable, break down in tears because they don’t know what they are going to do.”
The company has said 36 employees will be affected by the closure but was unsure of the number to be made redundant.
The company added: “The closure of our depot has not been an easy decision for us and we are very aware of the impact on both our customers and on our team.
“For a private service to be viable, it has to have a certain number of customers using the service. Regrettably, the lack of referrals means this dropped well below the number required in the autumn of 2021.
“Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to achieve the numbers which would enable us to continue the service.
“After taking the sad decision that we could not continue, our depot has undergone an HR consultation in line with all legal requirements to consult with the staff who have been impacted.”
KCC had not responded for requests for comment by the time of going to press.