Senior Living Leaders in Culinary Services Share Ideas on Supply, Workforce, and Future Trends in Dining
March 16, 2022
Leaders from senior living providers and dining industry partners shared their ideas and tips for dealing with pandemic-related challenges with Argentum. Above, Merrill Gardens’ chef’s service at the counter sparks greater enjoyment and interaction. SIMPLE AND SOPHISTICATED “We continue to focus on the center of the plate, putting high quality entrees out that offer a…
Indoor Microfarms Help Green Up Menus for Seniors
March 13, 2022
By Sara Wildberger Babylon Micro-Farms didn’t intend to have senior living communities as a major customer for its indoor systems to grow greens, herbs, and flowers for fresh additions to menus. But the company’s remote management technology turned out to be especially well-suited for senior living during the pandemic—and like many other product and service…
New Designs in Senior Living Dining Offer Greater Options
March 13, 2022
Hoosier Village has added a bistro, a cafe, and a fast-casual dining spot in addition to its dining room. By Cynthia Bombach The past two years have brought seemingly endless changes that affect the way senior living communities design their dining options–opening new venues, switching from dine-in to takeout and back again, and trying to…
Senior Dining Supply Chain and Procurement Challenges Met with Flexibility and New Approaches
March 13, 2022
By Sara Wildberger Throughout the pandemic, senior living culinary services have faced factors that make the food and dining business tough: inflation, competition, and scarce supplies due to continuing supply chain and procurement woes–but have kept quality a top priority. Yet culinary and dining services in all regions and levels managed to turn lemons into…
Robot ‘Waiters’ at Senior Living Dining Services Proving Helpful
March 13, 2022
By Tom Gresham When Lenbrook, a senior living community in Atlanta, partnered with Morrison Living to introduce a robot to provide support to dining services staff as part of a beta test, the community—naturally—named the robot “Lenny.” And Lenny the Robot immediately attracted attention from residents. “There was so much interest in seeing this little…
Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance Sets a Diverse ‘Dinner Table of Opportunity’
March 13, 2022
By Sara Wildberger The Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (mfha.net) is an educational nonprofit and affiliate of the National Restaurant Association. The organization celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021. Its charge is to make the business case for diversity and inclusion in food service and hospitality and to advocate for career opportunities for people of…
Obesity and Aging: All Science, More Treatment, No Bias
March 13, 2022
By Sara Wildberger Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, who shares thoughts and findings on obesity and aging here, is one of the first fellowship trained obesity medicine physician-scientists and educators. She is unique in the world–not only for her depth and breadth of training but for her dedication to increasing knowledge about and treating obesity. She…
Food Safety and COVID-19—Views and Updates from Servsafe
March 13, 2022
By Sara Wildberger The National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe™ program, widely respected in the foodservice industry as the leader in training and certification, issued food safety and COVID-19 guidance and has continued to update its programs. Argentum is the only senior living industry association providing discounts to members for this required training. Through the pandemic, as…
New Ways to Turn the Dining Table into a Top Spot for Engagement
September 30, 2021
Food has the power to bring people together like almost nothing else. Senior living communities can harness that power by offering exciting engagement opportunities that appeal to residents’ love of food. “There’s a huge social component to dining that goes beyond the functional need for food,” says Arthur Silva, senior vice president for Sodexo Seniors…
Managing Swallowing Disorders During COVID Takes Extra Effort
March 10, 2021
Even in ordinary times, managing swallowing disorders can require complex coordination and care in senior living communities—and these are not ordinary times. With the limitations and precautions the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed, senior living operators have had to make adjustments to ensure residents who suffer from swallowing disorders continue to receive the close attention that…
10 Tried-and-True Methods That Can Take a Bite Out of Food Costs
September 23, 2020
Voices of experience from the senior living culinary world share their tips for efficiency, engagement, and avoiding waste. 1. Go seasonal and local when you can. This makes for better quality and lower costs, but it also pays off in other ways, points out Morrison Living: with increased engagement and curiosity among residents about what’s…
2020 Best of the Best Awards: The Stories Behind the Honorees
August 3, 2020
The Argentum Best of the Best Awards recognize innovative programs, products, and services that solve a challenge, advance excellence, and improve the future of senior living.