Wellness is a big area of interest in senior living dining programs given the wants and needs of the incoming baby boomer generation. But wellness goes beyond just meeting dietary needs.
Senior living operators including Lifespark and Garden Spot Communities are going beyond low-sodium and low-fat meals and are embracing food that is both toothsome and healthful. That’s translating into menus with dishes using freshly caught fish and vegetables grown onsite.
It’s also being seen with more resident feedback and involvement when it comes to menu planning and development, which factors into the mental health aspect of dining.
For the incoming baby boomers, there is also an increasing demand for more choices and more options.
“I’m one of them … we get out more, we see more. We experience more than what our residents that are older might have done,” Turner said. “We’re more well traveled, more well versed and we’ve culturally seen a lot of different foods. We’re looking for those changes in our diets.”
Healthy and fresh
St. Louis Park, Minnesota-based Lifespark has observed more residents with sensitivity to gluten in the last five years, and that presents its fair share of challenges, according to Joshua Ordorff, culinary operations manager.
It’s no secret that senior living residents aren’t always receptive to healthier eating, however. Not only must senior living culinarians cater to these special diets, but they must also make sure the food actually tastes good.
“In my experience, in the last 17 years that I’ve been around the industry, more and more you see special diets,” Ordorff said during the recent Senior Housing News DISHED conference in Chicago. “We work with them for their needs the best we can.”
At Garden Spot Communities’ Garden Spot Village community in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, many residents have food allergies and intolerances. Many of the organization’s residents also need diets that are friendly to cardiovascular conditions and brain health, according to Christy Turner, director of dining services.
The organization is meeting those needs and desires by offering more plant-based fare, including food that is grown onsite in an aeroponic greenhouse.
Garden Spot Village utilizes dining stations with rotating fresh options for independent living residents. Some of the stations are meant to stay within 550 calories, while others are made with just seven simple ingredients in a dish. Sometimes, seasonal dishes have caught on and become year-round favorites. For example, the organization during Lent started serving freshly caught fish on Fridays, which became a popular mainstay in the dining room.
“We thought it was going to go for six weeks,” Turner said. “We’ve sold out consistently with those residents.”
Using fresh food in the dining room has also helped reinforce healthier eating and habits among residents in memory care and skilled nursing. Dietitians with the organization also explain the benefits of the food they serve, such as those with lower cholesterol, calories, fat and sodium.
To keep residents from getting bored, Lifespark offers five to seven menu items that are updated every few months to cater to resident tastes. The organization’s culinary directors meet with residents at least once per month in order to get feedback on what residents are craving and whether there are any special events coming up, like a resident’s birthday. That better prepares the organization’s kitchens.
Still, not all residents are ready to embrace healthy eating, and Ordoff said that some residents in more rural locations still desire the traditional meat-and-potatoes meals on a regular basis.
“If you try to put lettuce in front of them, they’ll throw it back at you,” Ordorff said.
The organization caters to those desires by asking residents for comfort food recipes that chefs will prepare in front of them.
“I feel that it just kind of brings them back to when they were younger,” he said. “It just brings back good memories.”
The bottom line for senior living operators is that baby boomers will desire an ever-changing array of healthy and eclectic foods. It’s up to operators to cater to those desires.
Balancing fresh fare with budget needs
It’s a common belief that healthy eating means bigger budgets. Though that can be true, both Lifespark and Garden Spot have found ways to bridge the budgetary gap.
Both Garden Spot Villages and Lifespark Senior Living make most of their meals from scratch, with only some use of pre-packaged ingredients. When the organizations do use pre-packaged food, it’s to better cater to resident cravings for foods such as chicken cordon bleu and coconut shrimp.
Garden Spot uses a production system wherein staff members can log and see what are popular hits and what is potentially being wasted. Turner said using such systems help cut back on food waste by determining what residents want to eat when they want to eat it, meaning chefs can cook meals to order.
“When we work with writing menus, whether it’s for our resident population or for catering events, we work with them to achieve a balance,” she said. “So there are items that are definitely higher in cost, but we can certainly balance them with costs and taste for something else in the long run.”
Creative use of ingredients is another cost-saving measure that’s popular with senior living operators. Lifespark uses ingredients like leftover premium meat in soups and broths to reduce waste.
The organizations also donate some unused food to local charities and nonprofits – anything to keep it from ending up in the trash.
“We’re doing a lot of things that are making sense for us,” Turner said. “It’s not wasted … but it’s being used in a more creative way.”