A good meal can make a big difference to how you feel, and a new partnership between Gore Health and local social enterprise Koha Kai is taking that impact even further by changing lives.

Koha Kai is now providing both the Meals on Wheels and in-patient meals for Gore Health.

Koha Kai founder and CEO Janice Lee said the change came about when Koha Kai were looking to diversify after news came they would be finishing their lunches in schools contract.

Knowing they needed to diversify, Koha Kai general manager Sammi Lee emailed every organisation she could think of, and heard back from Gore Health within days.

Gore Health CEO Karl Metzler said meals were of a similar cost but of wonderful quality, with people offered a choice of three meals.

Koha Kai also shared similar values with Gore Health, making it an easy decision to make, he said.

“We spend quite a bit on food every month, so we're delighted to be working alongside a social enterprise with a strong focus on supporting people,” he said.

Koha Kai is work closely with Gore Health’s nutritionist, making sure the food available is able to be enjoyed by everyone no matter their dietary needs.

“We’re getting lovely messages coming through to us from the Meals on Wheels,” Janice said.

 “One lady was so pleased with her Meals on Wheels because, being a coeliac, it had been the first time in three years that she had tasted gravy, and to have that gravy was just divine.

“A lot of our elderly say they aren’t hungry but when they start eating the meals they end up finishing the lot,” she said.

Karl said demand for Meals on Wheels referrals was increasing daily, and even he and his wife had bought some to have at home.

“They are delicious, they’re just like mumma’s homemade meals.”

Gore Health Ltd incorporates a hospital offering a range of public and private integrated services, including 20 inpatient beds, a 24/7 Emergency Department, maternity services, Gore Health Centre GP practice, dental clinic, specialist outpatient clinics, Allied and Community Health services, MoleMap, lab, radiology, and Mobile Surgical Services.