Meal Preparation · Shopping & Cooking Support · Geelong & Surf Coast
NDIS Meal Preparation Support in Geelong
- MasRic Health provides NDIS meal preparation support across Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast, including meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking in the participant's own kitchen, batch cooking and support at mealtimes. Delivered by the same support worker each week, it is funded under Assistance with Daily Life in a participant's NDIS Core Supports budget.
When Dinner Is the Hardest Part of the Day
For a lot of participants, and a lot of carers, food is where the week falls over. Low energy by late afternoon. A kitchen that feels overwhelming. The same three meals on rotation because anything else takes planning nobody has left. Takeaway more nights than anyone wants.
Our meal preparation support is for NDIS participants in Geelong and the Surf Coast who need a hand getting good meals made, and for the families who’ve been doing all the cooking on top of everything else. Some participants want to be in the kitchen alongside us, learning as they go. Others want to sit at the bench with a cup of tea while dinner happens. Both are fine. Both are the point.
Ours is a multicultural household, so different foods on the table are normal to us. Tell us what home tastes like and we’ll cook that.
Meal Preparation Support We Provide
Good food, on the table, most days of the week. We plan, shop and cook with participants in their own kitchen, around their tastes, culture and dietary needs, with the same support worker every time and as much or as little hands-on involvement as they’d like.
- Meals built around what the person actually likes to eat
- Shopping and cooking together, or done for them on the harder days
- Dietary, cultural and allergy needs planned from the first conversation
Meal planning
A simple weekly plan built around favourites, budget, dietary needs and what's already in the fridge. Written down, on the fridge, easy to follow.
Grocery shopping
The list, the shop, the unpacking. Together as part of the visit, or done on the participant's behalf. Transport included where it's in the plan. Travel and transport.
Cooking together
In the participant's own kitchen, at their pace, doing as much as they want to. Stirring the pot counts. So does doing the whole thing.
Batch cooking
A couple of hours that fill the fridge and freezer with labelled meals for the days between visits.
Dietary, cultural and allergy needs
Texture-modified, allergen-free, halal, vegetarian, diabetic-friendly, or simply "the way Mum makes it". Planned properly from day one.
Support at mealtimes
Setting up, sitting down together, help with eating where it's needed, and clearing up after. Mealtimes should feel like mealtimes.
Which Kind of Kitchen Support Is Right?
Three of our supports involve food. Here’s how they differ.
BROADER SUPPORT AT HOME
Daily Living & Personal Care
Meals are one part of wider support: personal care, household tasks, routines. Best when the goal is a manageable week.
Daily Living Support ->
THIS PAGE
Meal Preparation
The focus is food: planning, shopping, cooking and mealtimes, with the participant involved as much as they like. Best when food is the main gap.
Start with a conversation->
LEARNING TO DO IT THEMSELVES
Development of Life Skills
The focus is learning: structured, step-by-step cooking and shopping skills that fade our support over time. Best when independence in the kitchen is the goal.
Life Skill Support->
How Meal Preparation Support Starts
One familiar meal first. Then a rhythm.
A conversation
Tell us about the person: what they love to eat, what they can't, what a good week of food would look like. We'll call you back and listen.
A meet & greet at home
Your support worker visits with Masego while you're there. We look at the kitchen, the pantry and the routine. No cooking yet.
A first cook together
One familiar meal, plenty of time, learning how the kitchen works and how involved the participant wants to be.
A regular rhythm
Same worker, same day each week, with a simple meal plan and a service agreement. Adjusted as tastes and needs change.
Why Meals Work Better With a Familiar Cook
Food from home
A multicultural household ourselves, we cook what the participant grew up with, not what's easiest for us. And the participant does as much as they want, which can change week to week.
The same faces, every time
Skill-building depends on continuity. A team of three means no rotating roster and no repeated first lessons.
Safe and sensible
Food safety, allergy handling and kitchen safety are built into every visit, quietly.
Registered and open about it
Audited against the NDIS Practice Standards. Everyone here holds an NDIS Worker Screening Check and a Working With Children Check.
How NDIS Funding Covers Meal Preparation
Meal preparation support is funded under Assistance with Daily Life in the Core Supports budget, alongside personal care and household tasks. Where the goal is learning to cook independently, some sessions can sit under Capacity Building instead.
Groceries are paid for by the participant, as they would be anyway; support worker time is billed in line with the NDIS Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits. We support NDIA-managed, plan-managed and self-managed participants, and we’ll confirm the right funding with you and your plan manager or support coordinator before we start.
Meal Preparation Questions Families Ask Us
What does NDIS meal preparation support include?
Planning meals, shopping for ingredients, cooking in the participant’s own kitchen, batch cooking for the freezer, and support at mealtimes. It’s funded under Assistance with Daily Life in the Core Supports budget.
Can you cook meals that suit our culture or religion?
Yes. Ours is a multicultural household, and cooking the food a participant grew up with is one of the things we most enjoy. Tell us what home tastes like.
Does the participant have to help cook?
Only as much as they want to. Some people love being hands-on; others prefer to sit and chat while dinner happens. Involvement can change week to week.
What's the difference between meal preparation and life skills support?
Meal preparation focuses on getting good food made, with the participant involved as they like. Life skills support focuses on teaching cooking and shopping step by step so the person can do it independently. Many families use both.
Who pays for the groceries?
The participant, as an everyday living cost, just as they would without support. Support worker time is what the NDIS plan covers.
Can you cater for allergies, diabetes or texture-modified diets?
Yes. Dietary needs are planned from the first conversation and written into the meal plan. Where a participant has a mealtime management plan from a speech pathologist or dietitian, we follow it exactly.
Can meal preparation be combined with shopping and other support?
Yes, and it usually is. A visit might include the shop, the cook and a load of washing. Combining supports makes the most of the hours in a plan.
What areas do you cover?
Still have questions?
Feel free to reach out through our website or give us a call. We are happy to help.
What Would You Love to See Back on the Table?
Tell us about the person, the food they love and the week you’re hoping for. We’ll call you back, arrange a meet-and-greet at home, and plan the first cook.
admin@masrichealth.com.au
0491 795 198
Rossack Drive, Waurn Ponds VIC
Support coordinators and plan managers: we respond to referrals within one business day.