Crafting the perfect food menu for care homes
All care homes have a duty to provide high quality food which meets the needs of residents' palates and caters to their health needs.
Whilst many people may think that care home food is simplistic and lacking in flavour, the reality is far from this. In fact, creating the perfect menu for residents is a complex but rewarding process. Our homes provide innumerable menu choices, across multiple international cuisines, mixed with a variety of foods, providing residents with an optimal mix of nutrition and lived experience.
The importance of food and nutrition in care
Nutritious food is essential to our health and well-being at any time in our life, and as we get older you could say it becomes even more important. As we age, we lose some of our strength, mobility and immunity. The nutrients we need from our food change to keep up with the changes in our lifestyle. Our need for calories decreases but our need for nutrients such as Protein, Vitamin D, Calcium and B12 increase. This reinforces our need to nourish our bodies with the right ingredients and having a good understanding of our needs becomes essential.
Care home food and happiness
Although we need nutrient-rich and healthy foods to fuel us, it is also important to make some time for our favourite foods too. If we all ate the same meals every day, we would be left feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied. Our approach when onboarding our residents is to ensure we understand their favourite foods and write this into our care plan. Once onboarded we also conduct regular resident meetings to discuss our menu and update it accordingly to their tastes. Creating an environment that encourages a collaborative approach to menu preparation is essential and something that the NHS recommends. At Curaa, we like to ensure that there is a proficient level of communication across residents, their relatives, and staff, so that the food we prepare has the right mixture of essential nutrition and resident satisfaction.
Managing consumption and overcoming challenges
Elderly people often have barriers to consumption that care providers must understand and overcome. Some residents may have problems with chewing, digesting or their overall general appetite. These types of issues can arise from a variety of factors such as medication, deteriorated taste, condition of teeth/dentures or poor wellbeing. Understanding the person and the challenges they face is key to providing the right type of care and support. Creating a menu that takes these individual factors into account is something we take seriously at our homes and is essential to the enjoyment of mealtimes for our residents.
What food is served in care homes?
The answer to this question is that the food served at care homes varies but should always be tailored to the needs of the residents.
We believe meals at care homes should:
Have the right balance of essential nutrients
Be a product of communication from residents, relatives, and staff
Cater to the needs of the individual
Create an opportunity for happiness and improve wellbeing