Nourishing News - Summer 2024

Nourishing Conversations -

Seasons Care Dietitian Network / p5

Fairfield Park - Customer Spotlight / p10

The Future of Foodservice in Healthcare / p16

Beach Party Special Event Menu / p22

Connecting THROUGH THE SHARED LOVE OF FOOD

Welcome to the Summer issue of Nourishing News, your go-to source for the latest in healthcare and senior living dining innovations. In this edition, we are excited to shine a spotlight on Fairfield Park Long Term Care, a home that exemplifies excellence in resident care and culinary creativity. Their commitment to providing nutritious and delicious meals is one of the keys to their success.

As the warm weather beckons, we’re thrilled to share our Beach Party Special Event Menu, designed to bring the joy and flavors of a seaside getaway right to your residents. From tropical fruit platters to savory seafood dishes, this menu promises to make your summer celebrations unforgettable.

Additionally, we invite you to join our upcoming Nourishing Conversations, an insightful webinar focused on the The Future of Foodservice in Healthcare & Senior Living. Register now to connect with industry experts and peers and gain valuable insights that will help elevate your dining services.

Thank you for your continued dedication to nourishing those in your care. We hope you enjoy this issue and find inspiration for a delicious and healthy summer!

Warmest regards,

Sarah Emmerton Vice President, Healthcare & Senior Living

Food Quality and Safety

Nourishing Kitchen

Vol. 5 | 2024

Click HERE to view or download Volume 5 of Nourishing Kitchen’s digital recipe flipbook

Designed in partnership with our vendor community and Sysco’s Culinary Consultants to provide delicious & healthcare friendly recipe ideas that will be sure to make an impact on your senior living menu!

Over the past 12 months, Sysco Canada showcased their commitment to quality and innovation through a series of Healthcare & Senior Living industry events. These shows highlighted the latest trends, cutting-edge products, and best practices that are shaping the future of healthcare and senior living homes across the country. Join us as we take a comprehensive look back at the year's most impactful moments from Sysco Canada's dynamic Healthcare & Senior Living team.

H a l i f a x

C a l g a r y

A YE

YEAR IN REVIEW

NICE OVER ICE

Learn more about Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee products from your sales rep. Your guests and residents already love Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee products. Try this spin on the classics and offer more options – just in time for summer.

A NEW WAY TO BREAK BREAD AND SAVE DOUGH

Shelley Marsh NM Director of Nutrition Services Fairfield Park Long Term Care

Shelley graduated from Centralia College’s Foodservice Management Program in 1989 and later earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario.

With 32 years of experience, she’s a longstanding CSNM member, holding various roles in acute and long-term care food service management. Shelley’s perspective shifted significantly after her degree, leading to membership in the OSNAC/FNAT group. She advocates for changes to Ministry of Long Term Care regulations and has implemented significant menu changes as Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Fairfield Park.

Amanda Rolph RD Corporate Dietitian VIDA Dietetics

Amanda is a Registered Dietitian with over 18 years of long-term experience. Since 2015, she has been with VIDA Dietetics serving as the Corporate Dietitian.

Amanda is the clinical expert and supports VIDA customers with foodservice management system implementation. She advocates for high-quality, nutrient-dense menus to support health and quality of life outcomes for residents.

Fairfield Park Long Term Care, a 103 bed home, is one of three LaPointe-Fisher Nursing Homes. Located in the charming river town of Wallaceburg, Ontario, Fairfield Park is dedicated to continuously assessing and improving their quality of service. They seek opportunities to be innovative, creative, and implement or influence best practice models of care.

Shelley Marsh, Director of Nutrition Services: We are committed to meeting the needs and desires of our residents, aligning with our core value of making Fairfield Park truly feel like the residents’ home. Our goal was to go beyond offering a monthly Resident Choice special by collaborating with residents during monthly food council meetings to co-create a menu featuring their favourite meals.

Our residents expressed a desire for more homemade soups, casseroles, and baked goods. Prioritizing these requests, we focused on reducing sodium and increasing fiber, aligning our shared goals with each discussion.

The introduction of the Fixing Long Term Care Act and the changes to menu planning regulations effective July 11, 2022, presented an opportunity to implement an alternate menu style. This would help us manage rising food costs, production limitations,

increased resident needs, supplement costs, and other barriers to meeting resident expectations. We began discussing this menu change in June 2023 and enlisted the help of the VIDA Dietetics team to turn our vision into reality. With their support, we ensured our menu met and exceeded Dietary Reference Intake Values and successfully executed our menu on Synergy TechSuite. The new Fall/Winter menu was implemented in November 2023.

To start, we created a list of residents’ favourite foods, using historical data to select items that consistently ranked in the top 75% for acceptance. Recognizing that many favourites were higher in cost and required more production time, we also needed quick-to- prepare, affordable, and well received Always-Available options.

We decided to offer different Always-Available items at lunch and supper, changing them weekly. For example, Week 1 features a ham salad sandwich and coleslaw for lunch, both of which are easy to prepare and cross three textures. This approach minimizes production prep time, allowing more focus on preparing homemade soups, casseroles and desserts. This efficiency enables us to invest more time and resources into preparing main favourites, such as a grilled Reuben.

After a unanimous vote to continue with a One- Choice, Always-Available menu, Linda (in blue), and Dinie are hard at work helping plan the Spring Summer menu.

Our Week 1 Always-Available options supper menu features chicken breast and mashed potato with gravy. With mashed potato crossing four textures, we always have a non-mashed potato option alongside a homemade main dish that would typically be too costly. For example, we might serve pork drummies with an applesauce garnish, a baked potato with sour cream, buttered peas, and cauliflower with cheese sauce.

We provide two 3 oz servings of vegetables with every supper plate, regardless of which menu choice is selected. This ensures a varied and appealing meal each night. Our menu delivers 28-29 grams of fiber daily, eliminating the need to offer bread at all meals to meet the daily fiber requirements.

Our dietary team has fully embraced the One-Choice Menu, allowing them more time to prepare homemade recipes and produce highquality dishes they are proud to serve. We review our menu at monthly Food Council Meetings and in March 2024, residents unanimously voted to continue the One-Choice with an Always-Available option. We are currently planning our Spring/ Summer menu cycle, actively involving residents in the process.

This One-Choice, Always-Available menu is a work in progress. We continue to post both choices on the Week at a Glance (WAAG) menu and offer a visual choice at point of service. The predictability of the Always-Available options reduces waste and saves money, allowing us to invest more in high-quality ingredients.

We are very proud of this menu and look forward to receiving the results of our next Resident/Family Survey, as well as feedback from Ministry reviews. We believe we have established a solid base for our One- Choice, Always-Available menu. However, we also recognize that there is ample opportunity for growth and improvement to better accommodate our residents’ evolving needs and preferences.

“I’m proud to serve the food we prepare, it’s a great menu”.

Monique

The always available option makes the food counts more predictable, there is a lot less waste”.

Tim

“The always available option is an easy prep item. This allows us more time to focus on the main and put out more home cooked meals”. Kelly

THE FUTURE OF FOOD SERVICE IN SENIOR CARE

AUTHOR: RACHEL TROSHUPA, RD

Times are changing fast in the world of senior care, and food service is no exception. As the demographic profile of Residents evolves, so too do their tastes and expectations. Ensuring that your food service department adapts to these changes is critical, not just for Resident satisfaction but also for their overall health and well-being. So, how do we keep up with the changing tastes and needs of our Residents into tomorrow and beyond?

First off, let’s talk about who’s coming to the table. Picture this: a new wave of Residents for whom choice, flexibility, and inclusivity are key. These Residents want a say in what’s on their plate, how it’s cooked, and the style of service within the dining rooms. This demographic shift includes not only younger seniors but also a more culturally diverse population than ever before. With varied ages, cultures, and traditions, our future Residents are as unique as the flavours they crave. Ensuring that our food services reflect this diversity is essential to creating a welcoming and home-like environment.

Now, let’s get down to the meat and potatoes –or rather, our new reality! With rising food prices, it’s become a juggling act to serve up quality meals on a tighter budget. On top of that, the sector continues to face challenges with staffing. Revolving doors of new hires means less seasoned team members joining the department that are new to senior care. In addition to these everyday challenges, for those working within older buildings comes the task of planning renovations or new builds.

The good news is that where there’s a challenge, there’s also an opportunity. Here are some ways that you can ensure your department stays ahead of the curve:

INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY:

Technology helps to identify gaps as well as create standards to improve consistency. Systems can be implemented to reduce the team burden, which is paramount with staffing concerns of today and the future. For example, a department switching from paper-based dietary documentation to electronic records for food temperatures, production and/or Resident information saves valuable time, resources, and space.

PROACTIVE PLANNING:

Taking the time to think outside of the day-to-day and proactively plan is key to staying ahead of the curve. A department should not wait until an older piece of equipment breaks down before researching and comparing different models. For each new piece of equipment, there will need to be a balance between implementing newer technology and the feasibility for implementation within the team.

PRIORITIZING TEAM EDUCATION:

Your team is your greatest asset when preparing for the future, as they will be the ones guiding the department to its full potential. Providing proper education and scheduling regular check-ins are essential for promoting team accountability, retention, and fostering both lateral and vertical career growth within the department. This includes leaders dedicating time for paperwork, organizing tours, conducting roles and responsibility reviews, and holding huddles to ensure the existing team is well-prepared.

ADDRESSING STAFFING CHALLENGES:

Homes will need to be innovative to address staffing challenges to enhance their preparedness so that leaders can spend less time dealing with day-to-day staffing crises and more time on strategic planning. Some examples of this include cross training your crew to be versatile and adaptable, building up your contingency plans, and introducing flexibility into your menu.

CREATIVELY MANAGING BUDGETS:

As costs continue to rise, Homes must find ways to deliver quality food on tighter budgets. This begins with meticulous menu and order guide creation, which involves comparing prices and vendors, and implementing portion controls and standardized recipes. Temporary menu changes can effectively utilize remaining products, while cross-utilizing ingredients in multiple ways can minimize waste. Furthermore, involving Residents in the menu planning process not only reduces food waste but also enhances their dining experience through personalization.

As we paint this picture of the future, we’re also acutely aware of the challenges we face in the present. Budget, staffing and time constraints - they’re all part of the reality we navigate daily. So, while we dare to dream, we also roll up our sleeves and get down to the gritty work of finding doable solutions to these pressing problems. Please join us as we explore practical and realistic ways to implement these changes into your Home during The Future of Food Service in Senior Care webinar, on Thursday June 20th.

Contact

Beach Party

APPETIZER

Crispy Shrimp Tempura with Sweet & Sour Sauce

Summer Gazpacho

MAINS

Sweet Salmon & Pineapple Skewers with Sautéed Peppers and Lemon Rice

Mushroom Goat Cheese Puff Pizza with Mixed Green Salad

DESSERTS

Fresh Watermelon

Chocolate Ice Cream Bar

Tropical Fruit Punch

Tea of Coffee

Beach Party Snack Cart Ideas

DRINK IDEA: TROPICAL FRUIT PUNCH

Tip: Serve drink with an umbrella placed inside for an added touch.

SNACK IDEA: MANGO ICE CREAM

Tip: Portion into bowls with lids & place bowls in an insulated insert or ice bath for service.

Sweet Salmon & Pineapple Skewers

INGREDIENTS

• 1.65L soy sauce

• 750 ml rice vinegar

• 750 ml brown sugar

• 375 ml garlic, minced

• 375 ml ginger root, fresh, minced

• 185 g green onions, minced

• 25 ml crushed red pepper

• 375 ml vegetable oil

• 6 kg salmon filet, raw, cubed

• 6 kg pineapple, fresh, cubed

• 750 ml green onions, cubed

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Add a special touch to a meal service with a Beach Party card.

Spruce up meal or cart service with colourful napkins.

DIFFICULTY: YIELD:

PORTION:

PREPARATION

1. Mix together soy sauce, vinegar and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add garlic, ginger, first portion of minced green onions, crushed pepper and oil.

2. Place cubed salmon in marinade and coat completely. Cover and chill in refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Remove salmon from marinade. Bring marinade to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Cut pineapple into 1.5 inch chunks and green onion into 1 inch segments. Thread salmon, pineapple and onion pieces on skewer.

4. Grill and baste with sauce frequently.

TOOLKITS

SPECIAL EVENT MENUS

Introducing New Halal Complete Meals

With our commitment to healthcare, we prioritize respecting the religious preferences of patients and residents.

With the significantly increasing Muslim population in Canada, there is a growing demand for meals that adhere to the Halal diet. We are proud to offer a delicious selection of 9 Halal complete meals designed specifically to meet the needs of individuals following the Halal Diet.

Our new Halal complete meals are meticulously crafted with the Halal requirements in mind. From sourcing to production and handling, we ensure care and attention throughout our processes. Drawing inspiration from diverse cultural flavors, we have developed a range that contributes to an authentic homestyle dining experience, available across our chicken, beef, fish, and vegetarian options.