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At the start of this year’s National Meals on Wheels Week (2-6 November 2026), the National Association of Care Catering (NACC), supported by other care and public sector leaders, has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to make good nutrition and hydration a fundamental pillar of the intended National Care Service and its preventative health and care ambitions.

The open letter clearly sets out the importance of nutritional support as a fundamental component of health, independence, recovery and wellbeing, and lays bare the scale of the challenge facing the social care sector as an estimated 1.3 million people aged over 65 in the UK suffer from malnutrition, with the vast majority (93%) living in the community.* It is signed by NACC National Chair Neel Radia; Baroness Barker, Patron, NACC; Martin Green, Chief Executive, Care England; Mo Baines, Chief Executive, Association of Public Sector Excellence (APSE); Anita Brown, Chairperson, Public Sector Catering Alliance; Angeliki Papadaki, Professor of Public Health Nutrition, University of Bristol; Liz Stockley, Chief Executive, British Dietetic Association; Vic Rayner, Chief Executive Officer, National Care Forum; Nicola Strawther, National Chair, Hospital Caterers Association (HCA); and Sarah Wren, CEO, Health & Independent Living Support (HILS).

Without appropriate nutritional support, older individuals can lose strength, become increasingly frail, face a greater risk of falls and struggle to recover from illness, ultimately placing greater demand on already stretched health and social care services.
It is estimated that earlier intervention and preventative support could lead to savings in excess of £11 billion across the public purse.

The letter cites Meals on Wheels services as a valuable lifeline that enables vulnerable people to live safely in their own homes for longer, yet highlights the steady loss of these services, which are not currently a statutory requirement for local authorities. “At a time when the Government is rightly emphasising prevention, the loss of these services risks undermining that ambition. We cannot credibly promise care closer to home while allowing the community services that help people remain at home to disappear,” it says.

The signatories are calling for four decisive commitments from this government:
1. Make nutrition and hydration fundamental to the National Care Service.
2. Protect and invest in preventative nutritional services.
3. Embed nutritional support across health and social care pathways.
4. Strengthen accountability for nutritional outcomes.


Click the download button below to read the full letter