A MAN from Tavistock was selected out of hundreds of West Devon residents to receive a goodie bag in celebration of Meal on Wheels? 60th birthday. Colin Glade, 86, was chosen by apetito Services, the Meals on Wheels company, as he was one of the first ever customers to sign onto the list for the Ivybridge depot, which started in the area last year. The fire service and apetito presented Mr Glade with a tin of Cadbury?s biscuits and the goodie bag, which included a fire safety check, a quiz which has a prize for the winner, some seeds, a pad and a pen. Mr Glade said: ?I think Meals on Wheels provides an excellent service and the drivers are very much on time, which to me is most important. They come irrespective of the weather and they even come on Christmas Day.? Mr Glade was in the 4th Devonshire Regiment during the second world war and is pictured with his medals, one of which is a Burma Star. Meals on Wheels, a national service, originated during the Blitz when many people lost their homes and therefore the ability to cook their own food. The Women?s Volunteer Service for civil defence provided food for them. The name ?Meals on Wheels? derived from the WVS?s related activity of bringing meals to servicemen. The concept of delivering meals to those unable to prepare their own food evolved into the modern programmes ? delivering food mainly to the housebound elderly. The first service for the elderly started in the Handside area of Welwyn Garden City in 1947. Meals were delivered by the WVS in wheelbarrows, with straw to help keep the meals hot. In 1970 apetito began to produce frozen ready meals to supply this market, and by 1995 they became the first private contractor to deliver directly to service users. Apetito now manufactures more than a million meals per week at its factory in Trowbridge. On Monday, each depot in the nation celebrated its birthday, and delivered a special present to a selected customer.
