A CHARITY providing thousands of meals to the elderly and vulnerable is pulling out of its £1 million a year contract.

The Royal Voluntary Service provides a meals on wheels service to towns and villages across West Sussex.

The charity has invested hundreds and thousands of pounds into supporting the county’s elderly but says a drop in the number of older people receiving meals has made the service too costly for it to continue.

West Sussex County Council is now looking for a new provider to run the service when the contract ends in October.

Charity chief executive David McCullough said: “We very much regret having to make this decision, but the operational reality of providing this service with the funds available, means the charity is losing significant amounts of money every day.

“Unfortunately, therefore it isn’t sustainable to continue on this basis. Alternatives have been explored and it has been agreed that a different solution is required.

“The well-being of the older people in West Sussex is of course our priority and we are going to be working with the council in the interim period to ensure there is a smooth transition to the new meals on wheels provider.

“We will also continue to work with the council to support older people through the other services we provide.

“Our volunteers and staff have worked tremendously hard and their efforts have been hugely appreciated. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for everything they have done.”

The council awarded the contract, due to run for five years, to the charity in 2013.

Council cabinet member for adult social care and health, Peter Catchpole, said: “We are extremely disappointed that our meals on wheels association with the Royal Voluntary Service will end this year.

“We were keen to ensure the success of the contract and have worked closely with the charity to try to make it work.

“A Meals on Wheels service helps people remain independent in their own homes for longer and we would like to reassure our residents that we are working extremely hard to ensure an arrangement with a new provider is in place as quickly as possible. “

Research published last month show the number of people having meals delivered to them nationally has fallen from 296,000 to 109,000 five years.

This is partly due to the rising popularity of supermarket home delivery and takeaway options.