The cat who knows it's pudding day
4 November 2026
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, somewhere between half past eleven and ten to twelve, Bradley takes up his position on the door step.
Bradley is a large, unbothered, faintly aristocratic cat — "Garfield's cousin," according to his owner, Jacquie Hurst — and he has Meals on Wheels figured out to the day. "I think he just knows the days of the week," Jacquie says. Tuesday and Thursday come and go without much interest from Bradley. But on delivery days, he waits on the step, watches lunch delivery and then comes in and settles on the coffee table beside Jacquie's chair, before hopping onto the arm and giving her a nudge, just in case she'd forgotten to share.
"He's not supposed to have ‘people food’," Jacquie says. "But oh, you know, he'll sit there and then he'll punch me as if saying, “oi, I want some of that."
Jacquie started receiving Meals on Wheels around three years ago, after a stay in hospital, on the advice of a nurse who correctly understood that cooking has never been Jacquie's idea of a good time. "I do not cook. It's a real bother," she says. "I will, to survive, but it's not something I enjoy doing." Three deliveries a week means she can manage the other two days on whatever is in the fridge. In the meantime, she has gained something she hadn't expected to love quite so much: pudding.
Pudding's the treat
"As kids, you had your pudding if you ate your veggies," Jacquie explains, with the unshakeable logic of someone who still lives by the rule. So, she eats her pumpkin, her silverbeet, her broccoli and beans, and is rewarded, without fail, with dessert. In nearly three years of deliveries, she says, there's never once been a disappointment. Her friends have taken to teasing her about it she says. "They are always telling me, “You and your bloody pudding,".
Behind the jokes about pudding and a food-motivated cat is something Jacquie is genuinely serious about. The volunteers who deliver her meals. They are always on time, always smiling, always greeting her by name and have become one of the best parts of her week. "They come all the way up the drive... with a big smile and a ‘hello, Jacquie’ and lovely and hot meal.”
When her persimmon tree was heavy with fruit one year, she sent a volunteer off with bags of the fruit to share around. It was a small act of reciprocity in a relationship that clearly runs both ways.
"It's probably the best thing I've ever done," Jacquie says of the Meals on Wheels service. It’s high praise and delivered in the same breath as her ongoing devotion to pudding, and Bradley's devotion to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Volunteers the mainstay for many
Meals on Wheels relies on volunteers and donors to keep hot meals — and the odd bit of company — arriving on time, every day of the week and in any weather. To find out how you can help, get in touch with our volunteering team.
Do you have a Meals on Wheels story, or a Red Cross story of your own? We'd love to hear from you — get in touch with the communications team at communications@redcross.org.nz
This year marks 75 years of the New Zealand Red Cross Meals on Wheels delivery service. Volunteers are at the heart of the service, generously giving their time to deliver not only hot meals, but also care and connection to people in their communities.
We are truly grateful to all Meals on Wheels volunteers, including many who have been involved for decades – an extraordinary commitment and community spirit.
Our Meals on Wheels delivery service supports older people, those recovering from illness or injury, and others who live at home and may struggle to prepare hot, nutritious meals for themselves.
Find out more information
For information Meals on Wheels and how New Zealand Red Cross supports the service. Get Meals on Wheels
Read more about 75 years of the New Zealand Red Cross Meals on Wheels delivery service
Header image: Bradley, Jacquie Hurst's aristocratic cat knows just what day to greet the Meals on Wheels volunteer that brings Jacquie's lunch.