✨Dining

Dietary Information: Those of us at Ingleside at Rock Creek would like to know what other communities do to receive dietary information about the food that is served in the dining room.

Here there is a staff dietician. Menus items are marked as "GF" for gluten free, low sodium, etc. Residents can get help in meeting their dietary needs from the dining services staff. Lately the chef is experimenting with vegetarian options. We had a all-vegetarian meal in our fancy dining room and it was fully booked even though it competed with a special pig roast. There is a committee of residents that serves to advise dining services management.

Richmond Shreve

NaCCRA Board Member

Forum Moderator

At Westminster Canterbury of the Blue Ridge there are little signs at the take out line listing the fat, sugar, sodium, and other nutrient levels. Besides the usual food allergies, they are also aware of several residents having alpha GAL allergy and have stopped putting bacon or ham in vegetables.

At Ashby Ponds the nutritional content is posted at https://netnutrition.cbord.com/nn-prod/APL However, it is never complete and often incorrect. Also, portion sizes vary so much that one cannot depend on the information.

At Wind Crest, an Erickson community in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, we have monthly Voice of Dining meetings in each of our neighborhoods, where residents can interact with the chefs, managers, etc. about issues. On our website there is an explanation of how to use MyNutrition to decipher the menus re: glutin free, calories, etc. This continues to be a work in progress. The menus in each of the restaurants try to label the items with information about nutrition.

Our facility says they do not have staff with time to do the job of providing nutritional information. Years of advocating for healthier meals, more choices, less hidden fat, etc. did help some, but getting a reliably healthy meal is iffy. Different chefs are light/heavy handed on adding fat, butter, oil and their food preparation skills are different. Portion size varies widely. Those of us with strict dietary needs must "buyer beware." In a commercial restaurant customers demand consistency in preparation and portion size or they won't return. Given that we are a vulnerable population with many medical issues, having reliable nutrition seems basic to our contracts.