Corporate responsibility

Meals on Wheels SA customers are likely to be more vulnerable to food-borne illness. From cooking to packing, our production process follows a strict food safety program which complies with higher safety standards than that in the broader community.

At Meals on Wheels SA, we train our workers involved in the preparation of food in:

• Temperature Cooking Controls and Storage Refrigeration Records

• Food Receipt Monitoring

• Cooking Standard Recipes

• Cleaning and Sanitising Schedules

• Food Handling Fundamental Training (including personal hygiene)

• Meeting all requirements of the Food Safety for Food Service to Vulnerable Persons Program

• Appropriate handling of allergens
• Meeting the specific needs of our customers, including special diet and texture modified meals.

As a part of each meal delivery, our volunteers take care to check that our customers are safe and well. If they notice that something is amiss, for example, if the customer did not respond to our knock on the door at the time of the delivery, or if they appear unwell or have had an accident, our volunteers swiftly take action.

Our process is as follows:

1. We will follow up with the customer directly and ask if they have sought medical care.
2. We contact family and other key contacts provided by the customer.
3. We contact other service providers involved in the customer’s care.
4. We report concerns to their GP.
5. With permission, we may refer to other services for additional support.

If a customer is missing, we try to contact them first and if we can’t get in touch with them, we follow-up with their nominated key contacts. If the person is unable to be contacted, we arrange for a welfare check to be undertaken by SA Police.

If we find a customer in an emergency situation, we will immediately arrange for emergency assistance, and wait with them until help arrives.

Meals on Wheels SA customers may be more vulnerable to strangers. We screen both our staff and volunteers who visit your home or who have access to your private information. This includes undergoing a National Police Check on commencement and again every three years.

We also adhere to the Charter of Rights and therefore, all personal information from our customers and volunteers is kept confidential to protect their privacy.

At Meals on Wheels SA, we inform our customers about other available services that may benefit them, such as personal alarms or key safes.

My Aged Care and other Government support systems can be overwhelming and difficult to understand. Our Customer Service Team can provide support to our customers to navigate the My Aged Care portal and kickstart their in-home and community support journey.