More Than a Meal: How Dining Guides Retirement Living Choice

Food plays a vital role in health throughout every stage of life, including our senior years. Dining preferences are sometimes overlooked when choosing a retirement living community based on other features and amenities, but they shouldn’t be. In this article, we’ll discuss retirement living dining — both on the plate and beyond.

Taste

“Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness.” ­— Auguste Escoffier

If we are so blessed and fortunate, we eat the food we love every day, and many senior communities, like Concordia, strive to offer this comfort.

Dining options vary greatly by retirement community – including those offered at Concordia. Some may offer lunch and dinner service, like Concordia at Cabot, while others focus entirely on one of the two.

Concordia of the South Hills does not offer lunch but offers a high-end dinner service, and they do it well, according to resident Margaret Zabo.

“It’s certainly enjoyable, filling and looks nice on the plate when served,” Margaret said. “I always look forward to dessert.”

Head chefs at retirement communities craft their menus with great care when it comes to taste, trying to find the right choices that are palatable for most residents.

At Concordia, many of our head chefs bring decades of experience to the table from many different restaurants and cooking styles. That wisdom allows these seasoned culinarians flexibility. They can accept input and make changes that best suit the residents’ needs.

“Our chef is very willing to look into changes,” Margaret said.

Nutrition

“My favorite thing to do is eat and eat well.” — Lena Olin

In senior living communities, chefs constantly weigh dietary needs alongside flavor.

Francine Hlavacek, Concordia at Sumner General Manager of Food and Beverage, offers healthy options alongside tastier ones, including lighter choices, gluten-free products and low-sodium options. The menu denotes these with emblems alongside the choices.

“As you get older, certainly your eating habits and your digestive habits change, so we want to be conscious of that,” Francine said.

Adapting to dietary needs is not unique to Concordia. You will find that many retirement living communities that offer quality dining service will do the same; however, Concordia excels at finding the right fit for your needs and lifestyle.

Maureen Sirianni, Concordia of Bridgeville Director of Admissions, spends a lot of time with people looking into retirement living. As one of her first steps, she asks about dietary needs and interests.

“I will also pull in the dining director when families have questions or concerns regarding topics that are connected to religious requirements, or even choices that reflect vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, non-dairy and other lifestyles and specialized diets,” Maureen said.

RELATED: Nutrition Month: Staff & Residents Talk Healthy Eats

Companionship

“Laughter is brightest in the place where the food is.” — Irish Proverb

While good food nourishes the body, a good dining experience and atmosphere nourishes the mind. Through a shared meal, many seniors find social connection.

Residents often dine with their friends or guests, recreating that family-like atmosphere.

“Making meaningful memories through a shared meal creates a huge impact on a resident’s quality of life,” Maureen said.

Margaret said she’s discovered some of her favorite people across the dinner table. She and her friends, a group of about six or seven residents, often sync up their dining schedules.

 “We gravitate toward each other. We celebrate birthdays, and we do other things as a group as well, like exercise class or attending entertainment,” Margaret said. “I look forward to that.”

RELATED: The Benefits of Living at a Retirement Community: Nutrition and Dining

Experience

“Food is memories.” — Julia Child

Dining experiences in senior living look different location by location, even if they share some similarities. Aside from the different times meals may be served, regular menus and specialties are as numerous as there are flavors in the world.

Concordia at Sumner hosts restaurant-style lunch and dinner service; however, it sets itself apart with a menu steeped in tradition. Francine crafts each day’s menu by pulling selections from a recipe book that features thousands of stored recipes, many submitted by residents over the years.

“I’m really proud to be able to use that,” Francine said.

If a recipe submitted by a resident is used, it will list the person’s name alongside the item on the menu. Some of those recipes may have been handed down to those residents and have their own history behind them.

“It could be a recipe of someone who has passed, and we still use it,” Francine said. “In a way, it adds to their legacy and the history of Concordia at Sumner.”

RELATED: Questions to Ask at a Retirement Living Tour

Evaluate

“Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors – it’s how you combine them that sets you apart.” — Wolfgang Puck

Price will also play a role when considering dining options in retirement communities.

Some community dining experiences may include their meal plan in your package, while others may be a-la-carte or an add-on. Some feature or offer a hybrid system, offering advanced customization and flexibility.

At the end of the day, it’s important to visit a location, if nothing else, to see how that money will be spent. You’ll want to ask yourself, is the food worth the cost?

Concordia locations welcome prospective residents to try lunch or dinner services based on what’s offered at that location. It’s an opportunity to make sure the price and food is right for you.

Did this article make you hungry? Consider touring a Concordia location near you, and don’t forget to ask about trying our food. Click the link to find a Concordia location near you.

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Founded in 1881, Concordia Lutheran Ministries is a faith-based, CARF-accredited Aging Services Network and recipient of the inaugural Pennsylvania Department of Aging Excellence in Quality Care Award. As one of the largest nonprofit senior care providers in the country, the organization serves 50,000 people annually through in-home care and inpatient locations.