To mark National Vegetarian Week 2021, charity Vegetarian for Life has launched a new fund to help support older vegans and vegetarians living in care.
The Vegetarian for Life Show You Care Award is open to any UK care setting that supports one or more older vegans and vegetarians. Awards 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 award is open to all proposals, both big and small.”
The new Vegetarian for Life development grant for care settings
The Show You 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.
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 awards from £25-£1,000 for initiatives within care settings that will enhance the quality of life of older vegans and vegetarians.
Awards will be made available to the applicants judged to have submitted the best proposals to achieve this aim. There will be a rolling programme of grant awards 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.
See here for more details: https://vegetarianforlife.org.uk/pages/award
Here are some prompts which may help you to develop your ideas:
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 award and return to the address provided or to [email protected]. 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 one 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!
