Author: Jen Bruning, Incite Strategic Partners, Director of Partner Education
With Thanksgiving wrapped, and more winter holidays just around the corner, now is the time to reflect on how we create inclusive, meaningful dining experiences for every resident. And with intentional planning, every table can become a celebration of culture, comfort, and community.
Cultural Considerations
The resident make-up in many communities is shifting from an ethnic and cultural perspective. Many communities are welcoming new residents from various ethnic backgrounds, traditions, and countries of origin. This means that daily food service operations need to make shifts to accommodate everyday dining. But it also means coming to understand a resident’s preferences and traditions around holiday meals. That could mean different foods on the holiday, or different holidays altogether. Religious variations are part of culture, too, so understanding what holidays an individual resident celebrates (and doesn’t!) is an important part of the dining experience. Plan for special meals that meet the spiritual needs of all residents on the holidays that matter to them.
During a season filled with diverse holidays, traditions, and foods, take the time to celebrate what makes each resident unique. Honoring their individual cultural and religious traditions is a meaningful way to show your commitment to personalized care and wellbeing.
Incite is partnered with multiple dining partners that play a key role in supporting inclusive holiday menus. With culturally diverse food offerings, specialty ingredients, and flexible meal solutions, they help ensure every resident can enjoy meaningful meals that reflect their traditions and dietary needs.
Diet Variations
The trend away from restrictive diets has been beneficial for many residents, as appetites can already be suppressed by illness, medications, cognitive/mental state, and low amounts of movement. This is particularly true for holiday meals, when traditional full-flavored favorites are so important. But for those residents not able to safely tolerate a regular diet, you may need to be creative and give the recipes, preparation, and plate presentation a little extra attention.
Let’s use an IDDSI Level 4 – Pureed diet as an example. More and more senior living dining departments are upgrading their standards of practice for texture modified diets to the IDDSI protocol. Pureed foods remain essential for resident safety yet still present the same challenges in terms of presentation and dining experience. Think about your pureed plates from this Thanksgiving – would you have been pleased with the presentation, if you received this plate? How was the flavor? Did you get to enjoy gravy on your turkey or potatoes, or was it blended into the puree? If you see that there is still much to be desired from your pureed plates, then the upcoming winter holidays are a great time to upgrade and teach your staff new methods of pureed prep and plating. There are many new techniques, trainings, and products that can elevate Level 4 – Pureed foods to the point of appearing nearly indistinguishable from regular-textured foods. Delight your residents and their visiting family members at the next holiday, with a pureed plate fit for royalty.
Contact your Member Success Representative to learn more about these products or training videos!
Family Visits
Speaking of visiting family, there is no higher volume visitation time than the winter holidays! Integrating so many extra diners into daily operations can be challenging. If the dining department is having issues forecasting extra needs for family and other visitors around the holidays, it’s time to get some systems in place. Have a reservation program implemented so that guests will have pre-registered for a meal ahead of time. Over-communicate with families about the need to pre-plan on-site meals as there are lots of extra visitors during this time of year. Offer up alternatives if space for family dining is an issue. Perhaps some residents can safely be transported to a favorite restaurant or family home for a holiday meal, allowing residents with higher levels of care to take advantage of on-site dining rooms or event spaces with their guests. And be sure to host at least one holiday party, and plan for all those extra visitors.
The last thing any resident or guest wants to hear at this time of year is , “We don’t have space”, or “We don’t have enough food.” Plan, plan, plan ahead, using previous years as a benchmark for what you can expect. Make space in the budget for these extra needs and incentivize staff to want to work a holiday shift or two to accommodate extra meals being prepared, delivered, and cleaned up. Including family and other visitors in your holidays is crucial for resident wellbeing during this special time of year. With a bit of thoughtful planning, you can ensure every visitor feels welcomed, appreciated, and part of the celebration.
