In 2021, we wrote a blog about increasing food costs as the world was still grappling with the aftereffects of COVID-19. As the prices kept rising, businesses struggled to replace the profit losses and staff shortages that haunted them through the pandemic. Thankfully, many in the food industry are bouncing back from these challenges and are seeing improvements and new gains for their business.
However, almost three years later, the prognosis for food prices isn’t getting any better. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.2% again in August, continuing a pattern of increased prices since the beginning of the year. All in all, the U.S. has seen a 25% increase in overall food prices since the end of 2019.
As the leader of a senior living community (SLC), we know you undoubtedly feel the burden of the price jump. Adapting to circumstances beyond your control, especially in this care sector, is difficult, but it’s part of the job. But between the sometimes unpredictable health of your residents, difficulties retaining competent staff, and other obstacles that come with running an SLC, rising food costs are the last thing you need — and we agree.
So, how are SLCs supposed to provide residents with quality, nutritious, and diverse foods when finding reasonably priced ingredients is challenging? In our experience, the following four strategies help deal with rising food costs.
1. Conduct Regular Menu Reviews
Regular menu reviews help identify opportunities to optimize food costs. It’s helpful to discuss this information with your staff, including nutritionists, kitchen prep staff, servers, nurses, and others who can help analyze menu item popularity, ingredient expenses, and nutritional value.
Doing this helps your employees feel more valued in the workplace and provides an opportunity to learn about your community from a perspective you don’t often get to see. For example, a server may know which residents don’t like biscuits and gravy for breakfast, so their plates may always have more food waste and leftovers than others. Even if this is a community favorite, providing those residents with alternate options can help cut costs.
Other staff, such as nutritionists and dietitians, will also know all the residents’ dietary restrictions and preferences, so they can help ensure the new menu options are balanced, healthy, and actually representative of your residents’ needs. Without your staff, you wouldn’t have these valuable insights.
Involving residents in collaborative planning and menu reviews is another way to strengthen relationships in your community, especially around food. Aside from hosting town halls where residents can meet and talk with you directly about their thoughts on meal planning, you can also have readily available opportunities for real-time, impromptu feedback.
2. Build Local Partnerships for Better Value
Partnering with local vendors and farmers benefits your senior living community and surrounding areas. When you seek out these partnerships and develop relationships with the hardworking people in your town, you can provide fresher ingredients like seasonal fruits and vegetables, reduce transportation costs, and support the community. This is also an easy and cost-effective way to incorporate more healthy foods into your menus, boosting your residents’ overall health and well-being.
To leverage these benefits, negotiate better rates through volume purchases, explore cooperative agreements with neighboring communities, and support local food initiatives. Collaborative marketing efforts can also promote your community’s commitment to sustainability, enhancing its reputation and appeal.
3. Minimize Waste by Maximizing Resources
In any place where food is served, there’s going to be some thrown away. Whether that’s from spoilage, leftovers, or something that gets forgotten about and pushed to the back of the refrigerator, no kitchen is immune to food waste. Despite the inevitable, minimizing waste is critical, especially in senior living residential settings. That’s where maximizing resources comes in. Implementing waste reduction strategies can significantly reduce food costs in senior living communities. By doing this, you conserve resources, streamline operations, and free up funds for what matters most – delivering delicious, nutritious meals that residents love.
Here are some things we recommend for waste reduction strategies for senior living communities.
- Conduct regular inventory checks to avoid overstocking and reduce spoilage
- Optimize food storage and handling procedures to maintain freshness
- Repurpose leftover ingredients into value-added products (e.g., soup stocks, sauces)
- Implement sustainable disposal practices (e.g., composting, recycling, food donation)
- Train staff on portion control and waste reduction techniques
4. Outsourcing Food Service Management and Partner with Culinary Services Group
As prices get higher, the last thing you’d think would be beneficial to your community’s budget is investing in a food service management partner. However, that’s not always the case. At Culinary Services Group, our team is comprised of experts who specialize in helping senior living communities and other residential-style communities build dining programs that reflect the actual health of the staff and residents within them. Instead of having pre-planned packages, we customize each plan to fit your needs so you’re never investing in something that isn’t right for you.
Our registered nutritionists and dietitians, food safety experts, and staffers can help you:
- Conduct nutrition assessments to understand resident health better
- Implement cycle menus to reduce repetition and food fatigue
- Introduce flexible dining options, such as à la carte or continental breakfast
- Perform regular cost control monitoring and adjustments
- Connect with local suppliers to increase fresh produce supply
- Replace high-cost protein sources with plant-based alternatives
- Utilize herbs and spices for flavor enhancement instead of expensive sauces
- And more!
Don’t try tackling the ever-changing food economy alone. Speak to a member of our sales team today to learn about the services we’ve listed in the blog and more that can help transform your food service management program into one that thrives in spite of rising food costs. We can’t wait to serve you and your residents!
