Here Inmates Eat Better than the Elderly

The food at the country’s municipal care homes is not known for being particularly tasty. In Umeå, less money is spent on food for the elderly than what the Prison and Probation Service spends at its institutions in the municipality.

Umeå municipality spends 79 SEK per person per day for food at elder care homes. At the Prison and Probation Service’s institutions in Umeå and Sörbyn, the levels are 87 and 113 SEK, respectively.

The significant difference has prompted care professor Britt-Inger Saveman to react.

“I think it’s a matter of ageism and discrimination,” she tells Swedish Radio.

Saveman points out that the elderly need nutritious food and warns that being stingy can have serious consequences. If anything, she believes elderly care should invest in more expensive food.

The argument that inmates have a higher energy requirement is dismissed by Saveman, who notes that the elderly need energy-dense food with plenty of fat and protein to avoid malnutrition.

Get Good Food

Maria Svensson, Area Manager for Meal Services at the municipality, assures that the elderly receive good and nutritious food. At the same time, she admits that it is difficult to make ends meet.

Conny Dahl, local manager at the Prison and Probation Service, considers their costs reasonable. However, the goal is to keep below 90 SEK per day.

“We streamline as much as we can without compromising on quality, and I think we are doing that very well,” he says.