What Does Dining Look Like In Senior Living?
What if I told youā¦that for the rest of your life you could only eat at one placeā¦what would you say? Do you already know the answer? Now what if I told you – you didnāt get to pick? This week weāre talking about senior living and food!
I have to say that Iām actually surprised we donāt hear more about how important food is to the seniors we help. I know that if I had to eat in the same dining room for the next 5, 10 or more years – I would be thinking – that food better be good. I suspect that most, if not all of us are thinking the same thing. I love food! And even though care and location are arguably more important, which is probably why we donāt hear about the food as much, this week weāre going to take a look at food in Senior Living.
Weāre going to touch on the following topics:
-How dining works in a Senior Living Community versus an Adult Family Home
-How communities can differ from each other
-Special diets
-What to do if you donāt like the food
Letās start with the Adult Family Home:
Dining in an Adult Family Home or Residential Care Home can be designed specifically for each resident. If your mom prefers to eat in her room she can do that. Although they will invite her to eat in the dining room. This of course is going to be very similar to your dining roomā¦a home like setting. Does your dad sleep late? Thatās ok too! He can eat when heās ready and in most cases the Adult Family Home can provide very specific food items. If your mom loves a specific brand of chocolate ice cream – chances are – the home will buy it for her and keep it on hand. Does your dad always have to have pistachios around for a snack? No problem! One family I worked with shared about her momās favorite meal which was from Panera. The home then invited her and her daughter over for lunch and had this meal. Because Adult Family Homes have so few residents compared to a community, they have the ability to purchase special food items and often have take out nights.
You might be thinkingā¦ in a community setting my mom will have her own refrigerator so she can keep her ice cream there and dad can keep his pistachios. Youāre absolutely right! But youād be responsible for keeping those items stocked and paid for. Your mom could absolutely eat in her room – usually at a small additional cost. This would be a delivery fee for the communitiesā food or purchasing her own groceries.
So letās talk about dining in the community setting. They will have a per person budget, a chef and a rotating menu. How often the menus rotate or recycle depends on the community. Some communities wonāt repeat a daily special for 8 weeks and some for 6 weeks. They usually have a list of items you can always getā¦ you knowā¦ the basics like eggs and bacon, a chef salad or a cheese burger.
Many communities have set dining times – for example 7:30-9am for breakfast, 11:30-1pm for lunch and so on. Iāve even seen the dining window for only an hour which can mean crowded elevators! Some communities offer anytime dining but usually that means that the kitchen will make you a sandwich if you missed lunch. Very few have true, restaurant styleā¦ anytimeā¦ come in, sit down anytime and get served dining. But they are out there and Iām not sure why more communities donāt offer it. Some communities have a system where you choose your meal the day before for the next day. You might be thinking – wait ā¦you mean like when my dad was in the hospital? How will he know what heāll feel like eating the next day? That is a fair pointā¦. The communities that do this are often smaller communities and while it may not work for everyone, itās an excellent way to reduce food waste, and when you can reduce food waste you can add to the food budget. This means more variety or higher quality so it might not be so bad after all. Communities also usually have outings to different restaurants which would be an extra cost.
What about the actual dining experience? Well back to that restaurant style. Some communities have really nice menu holders with care staff as waiters and waitresses and some have actual spare wait staff. Some menus are on a piece of paper. Some have soda and most donāt! Which can also be important! Another recent client of mine loved her Pepsi! Some communities bring your order out on a tray like you see in a restaurant and some are pushing around carts. For instance, the drink cart will come around or the salad cart and you would choose what you want right off the cart. Some communities have assigned seating which can help with special diets and reduce that nervous feeling when youāre trying to decide where to sit and who to sit with. On a side noteā¦in these situations the community tries to pair people with similar interests. Some communities have open seating. Donāt be shy about expressing your concerns about the seating options. Communities can usually get creative.
What about special diets? Every Adult Family Home or community should be able to accommodate special diets and these days vegetarian and even vegan are making the list right along with low sodium and diabetic diets. Communities usually have a board in the kitchen with each resident’s photo and special diet so that everyone knows who gets what.
So what happens if youāre already in a community and you donāt like the food? When I worked in an Assisted Living Community, I remember the day our chef took another job. Sureā¦ everyone was sad to see him go, but his food was amazing. So we were all.. including the residentsā¦a little scared. There are many reasons the food could not be so great from budget cuts, someone leaving or a lack of focus on that department. Many communities have meetings with the chef where residents can talk about what they like and donāt like. If thatās not happening in your community then write down your concerns and get specific! Is it a variety? Is it the actual quality? Is your mom forgetting that thereās a menu apart from the daily specials that she can choose from? Whatever your concerns, start by sharing them with the Chef. The best way to do this is usually through the front desk. They can provide the email address. If you donāt get a response in a reasonable time, email the executive director.
On a side noteā¦I have two very good friends who are chefs and Iām sure they would agree that not all chefs are the same! So try the food! When seniors want to move out of their current community, we often hear that itās because of the food! So make food a part of your decision. Iāve never heard a community say no to a prospective resident wanting to try the food. Get creative! Is your mom or dad in a Skilled Nursing Facility and canāt get to the food? Have the community bring the food to them! This is called a home visit and is very common in Senior Living. Even if they just bring a cherry pie. This actually just happened with a client of mine and their mom gave a big thumbs up! Food was really important to her, the cherry pie was great and she ended up choosing that community.
There are so many things to consider when choosing a Senior Living Community or Adult Family home and care is definitely top of the list. But you have to eat right? Why not take a breakā¦imagine youāre going out to a restaurant or over to a friend’s house and enjoy what will hopefully be a great meal!
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