- CPS
Cost-Saving Tips for Senior Living Dining Programs Without Sacrificing Resident Satisfaction
Dining offerings are a key part of the senior living experience for many residents. Resident expectations have also increased, with recent trends indicating that more seniors want locally sourced ingredients with as many fresh options as possible, as well as a variety of dishes that cater to their personal preferences and dietary needs.
Yet senior living providers face the ongoing challenge of balancing quality dining experiences with budget constraints. Fortunately, there are several strategies to reduce costs without compromising resident satisfaction.
Here are some actionable tips to help streamline your senior living dining services while maintaining the high standards that residents value.
Enhance Menu Planning
Effective menu planning is crucial for controlling costs. Implement a system to track food costs per resident per day to standardize your dining operations budget. This approach allows you to set specific targets for each plate, ensuring you stay within budget while providing delicious meals.
Creating a flexible menu and embracing seasonal ingredients are also good ways for providers to enhance their senior living dining services. By designing menus that allow specific ingredients to be repurposed across several meals, providers can not only reduce waste but also make the most of their resources. For example, a roast chicken dinner served one day can be transformed into a delightful chicken salad or a comforting soup the next.
Incorporating seasonal produce into menus brings a host of benefits that residents will appreciate as well, and are often far more affordable in season. By adjusting menus quarterly to celebrate what’s in season, senior living communities can offer fresh, cost-effective options that keep meals exciting and varied.
Reduce Food Waste
A Recycling Works study found that the average assisted living community in Massachusetts generated about 286 pounds of food waste per day. While some communities may generate more or less waste, tracking your own daily food cost waste may result in some shocking insights that can help you cut dining operations costs.
Here are some strategies you can implement to help you track, manage, and ultimately reduce food waste costs:
- Audit waste: Conduct regular audits of food waste to identify commonly discarded items.
- Track inventory: Use clear garbage bags for increased visibility and prevent inventory shrinkage.
- Extend shelf-life: Train employees on the first-in, first out method to prevent expiration of products on hand.
- Watch portion sizes: Implement portion control measures like slightly smaller dinner plates to avoid overserving without sacrificing diner experience.
Streamline Procurement
Senior living providers can also significantly reduce dining costs by investing in better inventory management tools. Implementing an inventory management system is an easy way to carefully monitor supplies, spoilage, and other waste.
Another way to streamline procurement is to join a group purchasing provider. By partnering with a group purchasing organization, providers can leverage collective buying power, securing better pricing on a wide range of foodservice items and ingredients. Some group purchasing organizations, like Care Purchasing, will even work with you to identify additional ways to save costs in other areas.
Combining these approaches not only leads to substantial savings, but also simplifies the procurement process, saving time on labor and rework.
Enhance Everyday Efficiency
Optimizing labor costs can have a significant impact on overall dining expenses in senior living communities, too. One effective strategy is to cross-train employees to handle multiple roles within dining services. This allows for more flexible scheduling and can reduce the need for additional hires. For example, a server might also be trained in basic food preparation or dishwashing tasks, enabling them to fill in where needed during busy periods or shortages.
Another approach is to use scheduling software to ensure appropriate staffing levels. This technology can help managers predict busy periods and adjust employee numbers accordingly, preventing overstaffing during slow times and understaffing during peak hours.
Implementing an employee retention program can also be beneficial, as experienced employees tend to be more efficient. Retention strategies might include competitive benefits, career development opportunities, and recognition programs that foster a positive work environment.
Engage Residents
Engaging residents in the menu planning process makes it easier to create menus that resonate. This makes residents feel heard, and can lead to more enjoyment and less food waste. Creating a resident dining committee to offer ongoing feedback and suggestions is another good way to get ongoing feedback and suggestions.
If a dining committee won’t work for your community, consider conducting regular surveys to gather feedback on menu items and provide valuable insights into popular dishes, as well as those needing improvement. Hosting "tasting events" for new dishes allows providers to gauge interest before adding them to the regular menu.
By implementing these strategies, senior living providers can effectively reduce dining operations costs while maintaining quality and satisfaction. Continuously monitoring and adjusting based on resident feedback will help create a dining program that delights residents without breaking the bank.