From the excellent Dundee Food Train service :
"We have been successful in securing funding from the Dundee Partnership small grants and Reshaping care for Older People to pilot a befriending service in the West End of Dundee for six month. The project aims to offer short trips to older people over 65 to visit a supermarket in Dundee with support on a 1:1 basis with a volunteer.
One of the outcomes from our annual survey of customers using our grocery delivery service was the desire to have an occasional visit to a supermarket. The intention being that these customers otherwise housebound or having poor mobility would be able to see first-hand new products and special offers available in store and have a better idea of what groceries they might try when ordering through Food Train.
Food Train Friends in the West End of Dundee will hopefully reduce the social isolation and loneliness experienced by some older people in the community. This will be by offering the opportunity to visit the supermarket (possibly Morrisons as it has a café in store), meet other people and through the social element reduce people’s dependency on family and neighbours. Experience of other Food Train Friends services show that this would give older people a sense of being less reliant on these people.
In an evaluation of Food Train Friends running in Dumfries customers commented on the difference the befriending service made. The responses showed that without the service customers would have a limited amount of social contact with peers and volunteers, and a limited amount of enjoyment in their lives (things to look forward to and memories to treasure when back home).
The cost will be £3 which will include the cost for the tea/coffee and snack, participants who are not members of Food Train will have to pay £1 to join. We plan is to offer this service to six older people per month, for six months running to March 2015. Thereafter an evaluation will be carried out and further funding will be sourced to hopefully roll out the service across Dundee."
