Survey evidence on the living conditions of older people has a long and creditable history in Britain. Booth's work alerted policy makers to the often dire circumstances of older people, and accounts of their housing, diet, domestic arrangements and general quality of life stiffened resolve to ensure an adequate minimum standard of living in old age. At the start of what has been termed the welfare state, there were two important studies of old age in the works of Rowntree and Sheldon. In their depiction of the lives of independent elderly people, they provided a useful mid-century benchmark on progress.

The question of income and support infrastructure recurs over the decades and, in many ways, these concerns are central to the question of adequate diets with implications for health and wellbeing. The possibility, or otherwise, of being able to afford, buy and prepare food which is of appropriate nutritional and social quality, is fundamental to an independent life in old age. Using food as a focus for review, this article maps what has been said about the circumstances of independent elderly people and what has been done to support them in the community. It is concluded that while considerable progress has been made over the century, their relative position remains problematic. This is especially the case for those living on their own in old age and with a reliance on the basic state pension.