catering costs

Hanover Housing Association currently offers one meal per day to residents living in an extra care scheme. The residents sign up to this as part of their tenancy and is therefore a condition of tenancy. The cost is mainly covered by housing benefit.

What we would like to do is make the meal an option rather than a condition and wondered if anyone was providing a model that is option based so the resident pays for a meal if and when they choose to eat on site. We would be interested to hear how financially this might stack up, i.e. how does the catering provider work at risk. Any comments would be appreciated. Thank you