Indre Østfold municipality has removed dessert from its paid meal service for residents receiving municipal food deliveries, a change that applies to Christmas Eve as well as ordinary days. The decision took effect on 1 January 2026 and was made administratively rather than by a vote of local politicians, according to Nettavisen, which reported the story via Smaalenene.
The change has drawn criticism from Anette Mandfloen Strøm, 51, whose mother, Jorun Mandfloen, 76, lives in the Kirkegata care housing in Askim. Her mother has needed daily assistance since suffering a stroke in 2020, and she spends Christmas Eve with her family and fellow residents at the facility.
Why it matters
The dispute touches on how municipalities balance equal treatment across a service area against the traditions that give holidays meaning for older residents who depend on help. The service in question, known as "middag til hjemmeboende" (dinner for people living at home), is a paid offering available both to people in care housing and to those living in their own homes. It is primarily intended for people over 67, though younger people already receiving municipal services can also use it.
According to Nettavisen, residents at Kirkegata gather for a shared meal, and the tables are decorated and set out in long rows on holidays. Strøm told the newspaper that staff have done a strong job of making celebrations pleasant, and that residents become animated when a meal is served.
A daughter's objection
Strøm said she can arrange dessert for her own mother but worries about residents who have no relatives nearby to help. She questioned whether she should wheel her mother into her room to eat dessert while other residents sit without, saying the point of the shared meal is that people enjoy it together.
She argued that because residents pay for the meal themselves, the municipality could have let them order dessert for an additional charge, at least on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and Norway's Constitution Day on 17 May. In her view the council removed the option outright rather than leaving the choice to residents, which she described as high-handed. She said the cost involved is small and covers only a few days a year.
Strøm also stressed that her mother cannot get out of bed unaided and needs help with most daily tasks, but remains mentally sharp and understands what Christmas Eve means. Not all residents at Kirkegata are able to shop or prepare food for themselves, she added, and some have no family or have relatives living far away.
The municipality's position
Sondre Stjern, who leads kitchen operations for Indre Østfold municipality, confirmed to Nettavisen that dessert was dropped from the dinner service from 1 January 2026. He said the change was made administratively as part of the council's review of which services it provides, and was not adopted politically.
Stjern said around 180 people use the scheme in the municipality, though not all order a meal every day. The kitchen typically prepares food for about 100 people daily, and he said Christmas Eve does not differ greatly from other days in that respect.
He said the municipality must apply the same offer to everyone who uses the service and cannot make exceptions for one location because some residents want them. Asked whether it could be sad for some residents to go without dessert on a day many associate with such traditions, Stjern said he did not think so, adding that people can buy dessert at a shop or obtain it elsewhere, as with anything else, and that the municipality delivers only the main meal.
Stjern drew a distinction with nursing homes, where the municipality provides several meals a day and residents have less opportunity to obtain food themselves.
Strøm rejected the suggestion that residents can simply go to a shop, saying many at Kirkegata need extensive help and that this is precisely the difficulty. She said her mother has her to shop on her behalf, but that others in the municipality may have no one.
She said she hopes the municipality will reconsider before Christmas, either by restoring dessert on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and 17 May or by letting residents pay extra for it. The next point to watch is whether Indre Østfold revisits the administrative decision ahead of the holiday.
