Vegetarian for Life Care Award for Care Settings

The Vegetarian for Life Care Award is open to any UK care setting that supports one or more older vegans and vegetarians. Grants of up to £1,000 are available.

Says Dr Barbara Sharp, Chair of Vegetarian for Life: “We hope to support initiatives that will enhance the quality of life of older vegans and vegetarians.

“How about hosting a themed event based around veganism/vegetarianism or ‘Meat-Free Mondays’? Could you connect with a local caterer to provide an afternoon tea or take-away of vegan/veggie food? Or perhaps you could develop a life story book around an individual’s veganism/vegetarianism, or used to connect with their interests, previous activities, or activism? The grant is open to all proposals, both big and small.”

For further information, please read the notes below. Please contact the charity on 0161 257 0887 or info@vegetarianforlife.org.uk to discuss your application or request an application form.

The new Vegetarian for Life development grant for care settings

The Vegetarian for Life Care Award aims to improve life for older vegans and vegetarians within care settings. It is provided by the charitable organisation Vegetarian for Life.

Vegetarian for Life already provides grants to support the independence of older vegans and vegetarians in need, hosts an Annual Award for Excellence in Vegetarian Care Catering, and offers a wealth of training and other resources.

Couple

We believe that we can do even more to support the central role of food in the lives of older vegans and vegetarians in care settings.

We recognise veganism and vegetarianism as core to an older person’s ethical, spiritual, and philosophical beliefs, driven by diverse influences and enacted in personal choices and practices. It is directly associated with personal identity and experiencing quality of life.

Therefore, Vegetarian for Life is offering a new development opportunity for those living and working in care settings, and others who have meaningful connections with them, such as family and friends.

Commencing in 2021, Vegetarian for Life will support successful applicants with grants from £25–£1,000 for initiatives within care settings that will enhance the quality of life of older vegans and vegetarians.

Grants will be awarded to the applicants judged to have submitted the best proposals to achieve this aim. There will be a rolling programme of grants with the call for applications and submission dates being advertised across care sector networks, social media and detailed on the Vegetarian for Life website.

Criteria

Vegetarian for Life is keen to encourage creativity, so we provide only essential criteria and some broad indicators to assist your application.

Firstly, the essential criteria:

The application must be from a UK care setting involved in the support of older vegans and vegetarians, i.e., those who are 60 years or above (people aged over 50 years will be given consideration in special circumstances).
Applications may be made on behalf of one or more vegan/vegetarian older people who reside in or use the care setting.
Applications must be submitted on the standard form provided, either online or by post (see below).
Detail how you have involved the older people who will be the beneficiaries of the initiative in your proposal.
Be clear about how the initiative will enhance the lives of older vegans and vegetarians.
Set out details of how the grant will be spent and itemise costs as accurately as possible.
The manager of the care setting must counter-sign the application to clarify their approval and support for the initiative, and acceptance of associated conditions (unless application is made by the manager).
The initiative needs to be completed or substantially progressed within 1 year (maximum) of the grant being made.
At the end of the funding period (i.e., 1 year), successful applicants will supply a short article of approximately 500 words with photograph(s) for publication by Vegetarian for Life, describing how the initiative has been brought to fruition and its impact on the lives of older vegan and vegetarians and, if appropriate, others residing in, or using your service. Vegetarian for Life can support you in preparing your article if needed. Photographs need not include names or faces but, if they do, the relevant permissions will be secured by the applicant.

Here are some prompts which may help you to develop your ideas:

Consider ideas beyond the ‘food on the plate’. Older vegans and vegetarians are likely to be interested in related concerns, such as animal welfare and rights, the environment, food quality, production, and sustainability. Can these connections be improved?
There is also the experience around eating to consider and the value of connecting with other like-minded individuals. Can you enhance this aspect of a person’s life?
It can be useful to consider the role veganism/vegetarianism plays in a person’s life – can this aspect of personal identity be enhanced or supported better?
Can others be involved, for example, relatives and friends of the older people, or the local community?
Could your initiative have additional benefits to staff and volunteers in terms of: enhancing their understanding of what is important to the older people they support; improving their practice; contributing to their professional development, such as supporting completion of a RQF, SVQ, or PDA?

Some suggestions: How about having a themed event based around veganism/vegetarianism or ‘Meat- Free Mondays’? Could you connect with a local caterer who could provide an afternoon tea or take-away of vegan/veggie food? Perhaps arrange a visit to a vegan/veggie café or have some colourful cookbooks available – perhaps make a favourite dish? Could some fresh herbs or vegetables be grown on-site and used in plant-based recipes or in other activities?

Perhaps a life story book could be developed around an individual’s veganism/vegetarianism or used to connect with their interests, previous activities, or activism?

Background to Vegetarian for Life: Vegetarian for Life is the leading authority on diet and healthy living advice for older vegans and vegetarians. When we refer to ‘older’ vegans and vegetarians we generally mean people aged 60 years and over, although we have included those over 50 years in special circumstances.

Vegetarian for Life was formed with resources from the Vegetarian Housing Association (VHA), established in the 1960’s to provide sheltered housing and meals to older vegetarians. In 2007, VHA decided to wind down its housing activities and redirect its resources to funding the formation of Vegetarian for Life – a charity whose aims are in sympathy with those of VHA.

One of Vegetarian for Life’s major goals is to improve the standard of vegan and vegetarian catering in care settings. We seek to do this through our UK List, which is a geographical listing of organisations and care homes that make a special effort to cater for vegetarians and vegans.

We recently surveyed 1,000 care homes to find out how many residents are vegan or vegetarian. Since the survey was last commissioned in 2014, the number of vegans in residential care has increased by a whopping 167%!

Meeting the needs of a diverse range of older people is important to us, too. We strive for Vegetarian for Life to be the first port of call for information, support and advice for older vegans, vegetarians, their families, friends, and a broad range of care caterers.

Submitting your proposal: Please use only the Vegetarian for Life form specific to this grant and return to the address provided or to info@vegetarianforlife.org.uk. Each application will be judged on its individual merit by the Trustees of Vegetarian for Life, whose decision is final. You will be notified of the outcome by email within 1 month of the submission date for each funding round.

Note: You can submit only one application per call for submissions, but you can apply on future dates. This may encourage you to consider small scale achievable initiatives without undermining any future opportunities – small changes can make a big difference!

For further information: Please call the charity on 0161 257 0887.