Reducing Food Wastage in Senior Homes

Food wastage is surprisingly common in senior homes for a number of factors including show plates (in LTC), mistakes with food orders and incorrect forecasting.  

Show Plates

Show plates are one of the leading causes of food wastage in long-term care homes  – and, on average, studies have shown that show plates cost care homes up to $20k a year (depending on the number of residents and existing food costs). This amount reflects a tremendous amount of money wasted from a business perspective, and also a significant amount of cost in food wastage that could have been put to alternative uses within the home. 

Replacing show plates with high-quality pictures that can be viewed on tablet-based solutions like Continyou Care, allow residents to still see their choices while providing the home with invaluable data in terms of what residents are actually ordering.  One of our earliest clients has saved over $15k annually in show plate costs. 

Mistakes With Food Orders

This is more prevalent in homes still using “paper-and-pen” or POS solutions that are not mobile.  Orders taken at the table sometimes get incorrectly communicated to the kitchen staff because handwritten orders are misinterpreted or allergies/food preferences are not recorded accurately so residents receive food that they cannot eat, which then, in turn, needs to be thrown away.  Continyou Can helps streamlines the table-side ordering process so orders are correctly and quickly sent to the kitchen to be prepared while staff are able to engage with residents to maintain a great experience for them. As a result, we help eliminate (or drastically reduce) errors with food orders and ensure that residents also get their food in a timely fashion.

Inaccurate Forecasting

Without precise forecasting, many seniors homes tend to err on the side of caution and order too much food raw food components, leading to more food wastage. In both long-term care and retirement homes, Continyou Care can help with better forecasting regarding what food products that need to be ordered for the upcoming menu cycles based on historical data because we have the actual consumption data from previous weeks.  Instead of basing your order on anecdotal evidence and estimation, you can use our solution to order from providers like Gordon Food Services with far more accuracy. Of course, you can never fully eliminate food waste, but we can help you reduce it drastically. 

Continyou Care

We’re passionate about improving the experience of residents in both long-term care and retirement homes by using technology in the right way along with delivering a noticeable and measurable ROI for our clients.  Food wastage is a topical issue right now, and we’re excited to demonstrate the value of having the right kind of technology to help address issues like this in homes across Canada (along with also providing values in other ways as well).