Elderly care homes are spending an average of just £2.44 per resident on food, according to new research.
Sheffield Hallam University revealed the home with the lowest food and drink funding spent £2.15 a day for each resident.
The report's author Norman Dinsdale said: ''Despite past and current government strategies to improve the nutritional intake for people living in care homes, surprisingly little research is being carried out into the operational, practical and staffing aspects of feeding these residents.
'The aim of my research was to understand how caterers can improve the services they offer in care homes whilst improving and maintaining their competitive edge, their unique service propositions and their profitability, and also to find out what steps are being taken in terms of creativity and innovation.
'Ultimately what I want is for more care homes to introduce better systems so that they can give the residents more to look forward to and improve their quality of life.'
