Source: Carol Shanklin, 785-532-2206; e-mail: cws@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Mark Berry, 785-532-6415

Tuesday, July 16, 2002

STUDY TO HELP IMPROVE RETIREMENT HOME FOOD SERVICE

MANHATTAN -- When it comes to dining, continuing care retirement community residents are the ultimate repeat customers.

Administrators and food service directors have the unenviable challenge of keeping the residents happy with the quality of food service for years. In that regard, the retirement communities have some help from Kansas State University.

Sunhee Seo, graduate student, and Carol Shanklin, professor of hotel, restaurant, institution management and dietetics, are conducting a study to learn how to make food more appealing to retirement community residents. After talking to focus groups composed of residents, Seo will identify the residents' preferences for food and service quality.

They will then share the preferences with food service directors and administrators of retirement communities. Do they want something different for breakfast, or lunch, or dinner? Do they want a buffet or wait staff?

"None of this information is in the literature. That's why this study will contribute to a totally new area. Food is so important to the residents' quality of life. If the elderly are not getting proper nutrients, they can start losing weight. If they have a chronic condition, it will get worse," Shanklin said.

Food is more than nutrition for people in retirement communities. Eating is an event, according to Shanklin.

"The socialization people get during lunch is very important. It keeps them from being isolated," Shanklin said.

Residents want variety, choices and consistent quality of food and trained employees, Shanklin said. It is not an easy task. Dentures make some food difficult to chew. As people age, taste buds become less acute and they often experience digestive problems.

"Managing and providing quality food that is satisfactory to all residents is one of the greatest challenges in this environment," Shanklin said.

Retirement communities, like dormitories, have to deal with repetitiveness. A meal that is satisfying the first month a resident moves into a retirement home may be boring a few years down the road.

"It becomes harder to satisfy captive audiences, simply because they always eat there," Shanklin said.

Seo visited Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community a year ago. She decided then she wanted to help with its food program.

"I feel empathy with the residents, because I lived in a dormitory. I felt most of the food in the dormitory was good, but it was different from my mom's food. That's one of the limitations of food service, so I want to optimize the residents' preference level and satisfaction level," Seo said.

Shanklin has found significant food waste at retirement communities. The amount of waste varies with the menu items, which may provide some clues as to the eating preferences of the residents. She said residents who needed help in feeding tended to eat less, perhaps because they felt they were a burden on their helpers. Shanklin said the solution may be to offer food in a form that allows people with limited motion to feed themselves.

More attention is being devoted to the elderly, as the baby boomer generation continues to age into senior citizenship. Shanklin said 13 percent of the U.S. population is 65 or older, a percentage that is expected to double in the next 30 years.

"We in food service and dietetics want to make sure the elderly are satisfied with their food," Shanklin said. "We should be able to provide a knowledge of what is quality food and what is quality service."

The one-year project started this month. It is funded by a $2,600 grant from the Perry C. and Virginia Piene Excellence for Aging Initiative in the College of Human Ecology.

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