Springhill Care Home in Accrington, Lancashire has worked with staff, residents, family members and sector experts including nutritionists to create a new menu to reflect changing dietary needs.
The menu, which will be available until the winter when new options will be brought in, includes everything from main meals, deserts and snacks, and specialist options for residents who need them.
The new menu was the brainchild of Anne Wareing, a nurse at the home and the nutrition lead, and head chef Dave Laithwaite, who joined Springhill last year.
The pair worked to create nutrition champions across the home and its different shift patterns and services, and met monthly to review options and suggestions. Local producers were also consulted over the menu.
Now the food has been presented to staff, residents, family members and professional contacts at a special tasting event who sampled the new options and gave their feedback.
The new menu, which runs on a four-week cycle, will begin in two weeks. A similar exercise will take place later in the year to create a new autumn/winter menu.
Anne Wareing said: “Good, wholesome food is such an important part of a healthy lifestyle and a key ingredient of modern care.
“We have more residents now than we used to who have extra nutritional requirements, so we decided this was a great chance to overhaul our menu.
“Dave looked at all the suggestions and feedback we had over the course of the exercise and has come up with some great ideas that we can’t wait to begin serving up. A lot of thought has gone into the menu, and the feedback was very positive and shows we are moving in the right direction.
“Our team is going to continue to meet on a regular basis to ensure the menu remains relevant and regularly updated, and we are looking forward to holding another tasting event at the end of the year when we introduce our autumn-winter menu.
