Shifting the balance

Westminster Meals Service (WMS) moved further in to the commercial world last month by buying a franchise with frozen meals company Wiltshire Farm Foods, giving WMS exclusive distribution rights in the west London postal area.

Another venture sees the company marketing the computer program it developed in conjunction with Dodwell Computer Consultancy through a company called Westminster Meals.

The welfare state stigma attached to the words "meals on wheels" is due to change, a process that Westminster Meals Service (WMS) is patiently encouraging.

Alongside its traditional meals on wheels service for Westminster City Council, WMS directors Brian Smith and Len Murrill have set up a new company, Meals Services, to distribute Wiltshire Farm Foods' range of frozen meals under franchise.

While the traditional meals on wheels business is serving customers who have a statutory right to the service, and to whom Westminster council has an obligation, the franchise business has to sell itself to people who will often be paying the bill themselves.

The clients may not be very different, having in some cases slipped through the welfare net. Some may be people for whom meals on wheels has an unacceptable image but who still need help, so WMS can offer them an à la carte service. This private sector business accounts for less than 10% of WMS turnover, but Smith feels it could grow to take the lion's share.

Volume of business has been static throughout September and October. Smith expects demand both for the core business and for the franchise operation to grow from November onwards.

"There's a difference between spreading the word about meals on wheels and signing new contracts," says Smith. WMS has been getting enquiries, but so far it has signed no new contracts.

"The articles in Caterer are raising the profile, we are visiting potential clients, there is word-of-mouth publicity and our consultant Bob Kingsbury is helping," he says. "I don't expect new business to come from it directly. More exposure is good for meals on wheels generally, which in the long run is good for us as a company."

One of the areas where change is happening already is in the range of meals on wheels dishes now being served. The age-group of clients, which for WMS is broadly 55 to 60 years old and older, has not generally been adaptable but this is changing.

"In the past, we've looked at traditional meals - roast lamb and two veg, suet pudding and custard," says Smith. "Now, pasta is more acceptable than it was and we serve yogurt as desserts - would they have been acceptable 10 years ago?"

From "roast meat and two veg" to "pasta and vegetables" is a complex journey. To make the transition, WMS calls on its own experience, clients' views and expert opinion.

"We talk to clients, use questionnaires, listen to what they say and make changes to the menu accordingly," says Smith.

Clients have asked for a bigger choice, and this has been provided. WMS now gives a choice of two main kosher meals at different prices. And because demand for vegetarian meals has grown so much in the past five years, the company now offers about 25 vegetarian main dishes.

Westminster council has from the outset required the organisation to offer a menu cycle for clients with therapeutic requirements: low fat, low salt, diabetic, and so on.

In a survey less than a year ago, WMS found that the clients themselves wanted to be more adventurous, and could be offered some of the meals from the à la carte range.

Following the buy-out of the direct service organisation from Westminster council, WMS can respond quickly to these changes in demand. "At the council, any departures from the norm had to be approved by committee - the usual local government structure. As a commercial company we can respond to demand, we can evaluate something quickly, and move forward."

WMS has a five-week menu cycle for each group of clients, offering popular dishes at acceptable prices and satisfying nutritional requirements.

This can be difficult. "Take lamb's liver: it's a good quality meal, rich in iron and other nutriments, but we have more clients refusing that dish than any other. We don't take it off the menu, we provide an alternative," says Smith.

It's a continual process, which the computerised management system takes account of: individual clients' likes and dislikes are monitored, and where there is a conflict, the computer offers an alternative meal.

For specifications on nutrition, and a lot more besides, WMS works to the Recommended Standard for Community Meals, drawn up by the Advisory Body for Social Services Catering (ABSSC). Smith comments: "The suppliers co-operate with ABSSC and are astute in recognising that this is an important document. It's a living document, moving forward."

The choice of a five-week cycle is arbitrary and depends on the range of meals that WMS can offer. This changes throughout the year to, for example, include fresh salad in the summer months.

"This can be difficult because some people want a hot meal, and that means there will be hot and cold meals going out in the same van. We have to load hot in one side and cold in the other."

Franchise operation

Meals Services has had a walk-in freezer installed at the side of the yard where delivery vans are parked.

The franchise operation will be promoted to hospitals, sheltered accommodation, homes for the elderly and companies that operate retirement homes.

"We are delivering 20% of the franchise business to sheltered accommodation already. We can boost sales in the existing client sites, but we also need to find new business. We can take out small freezers with the meals loaded, and the Servetherm regeneration devices - and do presentations."