Last updated on June 15th, 2023
When deciding to outsource dining services, selecting a vendor is often a crucial first step for healthcare communities. What is the best choice for you, a national vendor or a privately owned company? Do you want a vendor with a large network of people or a smaller vendor with more personal staff? The questions you’ll need to ask all come down to one critical focus, how flexible is your prospective vendor?
A flexible vendor will create a customized program for your community and adapt as your residents’ needs change.
Are Large Food Service Management Companies Flexible?
When considering a large food service management company, many communities focus on the fact that a larger team might mean more resources and help. But, one of the downsides of a larger vendor is that they often have specific menus that align with whichever food service plan you choose, and it’s tough for them to make adjustments to those menus on the fly.
To find out if a large vendor is flexible, ask them how their menus differ by community and across the country. A flexible vendor will alter food items based on resident feedback and regional preferences. For example, Culinary Services Group customizes menus for each community’s region. In our northern U.S. communities, we serve moist, sweet cornbread, but we do a less sweet, southern-style cornbread in our southern communities. And we use resident feedback and community health goals to build a perfectly tailored plan for every client. Communities looking to reduce sodium or limit sugar for residents can still offer plenty of tasty options. We use technology to perfectly balance nutrients in our menus depending on the needs of your residents. Unlike with larger corporations, our communities aren’t locked into a specific menu or program.
How Do Flexible Vendors Deal with Emergencies?
Emergencies happen. Whether it’s an issue with supply chains, a hurricane, or a global pandemic, flexible food vendors will ensure your dining service continues uninterrupted. When a crisis happens, flexible vendors can mobilize quickly to solve the problem.
When evaluating prospective vendors, ask them about the last emergency they faced, how they solved it, and how fast they solved it.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Culinary Services Group successfully shifted the dining service out of a community affected by the virus in less than 48 hours. Even with a closed kitchen, residents continued to receive hot, nutritious meals.
If there’s a problem with a food item, flexible vendors can quickly make a menu change. This happened a lot early in the COVID-19 pandemic. There were many food shortages and price changes. Our team was able to quickly adapt menus to incorporate the available food items. And we didn’t stop there. We also effectively communicated to clients the reason for the changes and what we were doing to ensure minimal disruption to our food chain. Here’s an example of a letter we sent to one of our communities:
What Types of Contracts Will a Flexible Vendor Offer?
Some food service management companies offer a “one-size-fits-all” contract. Flexible companies don’t. Every community is different, and creating a customized plan for each dining program is a key characteristic of a good, flexible vendor.
For example, Culinary Services Group offers multiple contract styles to fit various communities’ unique needs. We have full-service contracts and management & procurement only contracts, and we can recommend the best option for you based on our assessment of your food service needs.
With a management & procurement only contract, you’ll keep your staff, and our team provides leadership to ensure consistency and improvement. We employ onsite management personnel to oversee your food service department’s day to day operations (which may include a Food Service Director, Chef Manager, and Registered Dietitian). We’re responsible for all wages, taxes, and benefits associated with these employees, and we abide by your community’s pre-employment requirements and policies (like background checks and physicals). The advantage of this type of contract is that your community can continue to provide benefits and build relationships with the hourly employees you already have. If you have union workers, you can still outsource your dining program through this type of contract.
With a full-service contract, we provide all onsite management personnel (like a Food Service Director, Chef Manager, and Registered Dietitian) and hourly employees. We’re also responsible for all wages, taxes, and benefits associated with these employees in this type of contract. Our talent acquisition team are experts in knowing what to look for in food service employees. Once hired, we provide training to all team members, and we provide clinical and dietitian resources.
For both types of contracts, we source, order, and maintain all raw food ingredients and create custom menus that are both enjoyable and nutritious. Our Group Purchasing Organization gives us the ability to purchase items at lower rates, creating big savings for clients.
Choosing a Flexible Food Service Provider
With a flexible food service provider, you’re still in control of your dining program.
If you want to start outsourcing your dining program but still want to be involved, Culinary Services is a good solution because we’re a privately owned mid-sized company.
Many of our clients were running their dining program themselves before making the switch. They recognized that as healthcare administrators, they couldn’t oversee dining services and didn’t have the resources to recruit, hire, and train employees properly. By leveraging our buying power and expert knowledge of staffing patterns, they found they could save money and provide better quality, healthier dining programs for residents.
Unlike large food service companies, with us, you’ll know your point of contact at the community, regional, and corporate level, and you’ll be in regular communication with them. Your regional manager oversees a group of communities in your geographical area. They will help conduct periodic audits of your kitchen to ensure it’s always inspection ready. They will also meet with you often and are your first point of contact if an issue occurs. At the corporate level, you’ll have access to both our Vice President of Operations and our Chief Operating Officer (yes, really!). They’re always just a phone call away.
Your food service director and/or chef manager are your in-house representatives. They’ll meet regularly with both you and your residents to ensure things are operating smoothly.
Your community deserves a dining program that not only improves the lives of your current residents but stands out as an amenity that encourages future residents to see you as a community of choice. Get a partner who aligns with your values, understands each community is unique and doesn’t try to put you in a one-size-fits-all program. Contact Culinary Services Group today.
