Finding a veggie friendly care home

There’s a lot to consider when choosing a suitable care home for yourself or a family member: location, care inspection rating, food, facilities, activities, and more. As a vegan or vegetarian (veg*n) there’s even more to consider. Will this care home respect your beliefs and values and provide well-balanced, nutritious, tasty and varied meals? VfL is here to help.

A good starting point is to check the UK list (directory of suppliers) on our website. This is a comprehensive list of care homes and other organisations across the UK that cater well for veg*ns. You can find it on our website here. You simply need to select the type of organisation that you’re looking for, such as nursing care or residential care. You can also search for day care providers, lunch clubs, sheltered housing and more. Then select the town that you’re looking for, such as Stockport, UK. Press search and the results will display below. Here is an example:

You can click on the homes from the list or on the map for more information on each. Those homes marked with a star are premium members. To be a premium member they promise to provide three vegetarian options at all times, two of which can be made vegan. Our current premium members include HC-One, Borough Care and Avery Healthcare. These homes have pledged to go above and beyond in catering for their veg*n residents. You’ll be able to find their example veg*n menus on our website.

After finding homes on VfL’s UK List, it’s time to visit. Here are some suggested questions and ideas that might help on your visit:

• Ask to see their vegetarian and vegan menu. Is there good choice and variety? Does the menu seem nutritious and well balanced?
• Ask to speak to the chef on your visit.
• Do all staff understand what veg*ns do and don’t eat?
• Ask if there are any current vegetarian or vegan residents? Would you be able to speak to them?
• Can you sit in on a meal to try the food?
• Do they cater for veg*ns at special events such as barbecues, celebrations and birthdays?
• Do they have a staff member who is a veggie champion?

For wider tips on how to find the right care home, read Independent Age's guide, here.

Some homes have also taken a Memory Care Pledge with us. These homes can be identified with a green heart logo on our UK List. This again is showing that they take your veg*n beliefs seriously and if you experienced capacity loss in the future they would still support you to maintain your veg*n lifestyle.

If you need any further support finding a suitable care establishment that caters well for veg*ns please do get in touch with us: info@vegetarianforlife.org.uk or 0161 257 0887.