As December comes to a close, 2025 is on the horizon. What’s on the chopping block for your menus? How about new ideas you’re exploring to replace what’s not as popular among residents? Or are you reading this blog and realizing you should have started your annual dining program review a little earlier? Either way, you’re in the right place. We’ve rounded up the most anticipated food trends for 2025.
However, before we jump into next year’s predictions, you might remember last year’s blog predicting 2024’s food trends. The focus was on incorporating new, innovative ways to promote a healthy lifestyle in long-term care. We often hear about “healthy foods” and think about bland, boring foods like unseasoned chicken, boiled carrots, cold sandwiches — anything that doesn’t sound appetizing. Older adults already have a decreased sense of taste because of age, so these lackluster foods don’t contribute to a pleasant dining experience.
But intentionality? That’s staying around for another year. For 2025, experts predict that the mealtime experience will be the primary way to improve dining in long-term care communities.
Let’s explore making all three meals of the day in your senior living kitchen more memorable.
3 Top Culinary Trends for 2025
Personalized Dining Plans
Residents crave dining programs that prioritize their preferences. One-size-fits-all menus are tried and true, but today’s older adults are moving away from generic options and want choices that align with their lifestyle, values, and health goals. At Culinary Services Group, person-centered dining, which prioritizes all three of those things, is the center of our mission to provide senior living communities with stellar food management services. That aside, it’s also favored by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare. Person-centered care also involves nutrition planning, which accounts for residents’ health needs.
To do this, source foods with a purpose, like lion’s mane and oyster mushrooms or fish like salmon and tuna, that promote cognitive health. With the help of our registered dietitians and nutritionists, your community can embody the principle “food is medicine” — a popular term among many middle-aged and older adults now.
Increased Resident Involvement
Dining is more than just eating – it brings people together. Connection is central to boosting mental health and increasing socialization (two very important factors in preventing cognitive impairment), so the more you encourage engagement among residents, the better. Interactive experiences like cooking classes and food tastings allow residents to bond over shared culinary interests and talents. These activities also give you real-time feedback about popular food picks and snacks or meals to avoid.
Additionally, resident involvement can be fun and educational. For example, as people start to read nutrition labels on products they purchase, facts are becoming more important. Household staples like flour, eggs, and milk are now inspected in a new light to see if the food we’re consuming has the benefits we think they do. Host nutrition classes or work with clients to navigate the MyPlate for Older Adults online meal planning guide to add different food-focused events to your community’s activities calendar.
Memorable Table Experiences
Promoting cognitive health through personalized dining plans is one way to make table experiences memorable. At the core of your community, the bonds that residents create are inherently beneficial to their health and the dining room’s overall dynamic. However, the intentional combination of nutritious meals, engaging conversations, and empathetic care you and your staff provide transforms dining into a therapeutic experience. After all, food is therapy for many people.
Here are a few ideas that blend the two culinary trends mentioned above:
- Create “Memory Tables” where residents share life stories and experiences over meals, fostering connections and community.
- Launch “Taste of the Past” programs featuring nostalgic menus and decor to spark nostalgia and socialization.
- Develop personalized “Dining Profiles” to cater to residents’ unique tastes, dietary needs, and cultural backgrounds.
- Host “Family Recipe Night,” where residents share and prepare beloved family dishes, promoting intergenerational connections.
- Implement “Sensory Dining” experiences, incorporating soothing music, calming scents, and tactile elements to create comforting environments.
Overcoming Obstacles to Elevate Senior Living Dining
As you know, changing anything in long-term care isn’t an overnight process. On top of ensuring resident satisfaction, training staff, purchasing new supplies, and complying with F-tag regulations are on your to-do list — making it a pretty long set of tasks. This highlights another barrier to beginning any change to your kitchen: retaining your staff and hiring new ones to fill in the gaps. Staffing shortages are something that many restaurants and senior living care communities alike are still struggling with, even almost five years after the COVID-19 pandemic. By building a resilient team, your long-term care community is capable of navigating change, from the most minor menu adjustment to a complete overhaul of your dining program.
Regardless of how you review your dining program at the end of this year, the Culinary Services Group team is here to assist you in implementing it. We offer complete food service management programs that support you, from hiring dietitians to figuring out this week’s snack table options or something on a smaller scale. Our goal is to help you:
- Find compassionate, competent, and goal-oriented staff
- Improve the quality of the food you serve
- Customize menus to reflect resident needs and preferences
- Take a food-first approach to mealtime for residents with special medical needs
- Reduce the cost of your food service to make finances less of a burden
If this would benefit your long-term care community, we want to hear from you! Fill out a contact form, and a member of our sales team will contact you as soon as possible. We can’t wait to hear about your dining program goals and aspirations.
