1. Work Together: Food Service as part of the healthcare team

2. Food is vital to a patient’s experience and recovery
Food intake is important to the recovery of patients; patients who do not eat the food stay longer in hospital
Older adults are more likely to experience barriers to food intake
Quality food is important to the patient experience in hospital

3. Foodservice workers are a vital part of the team
Food is medicine. Medicine heals.
High quality food requires effort and investment
Staff who deliver the tray
Can represent a positive hospital experience
Can be a friendly face
See how the patient does with meals
Ensure that patients get this vital therapy on time and when they can eat

4. Encourage Food Intake
Provide friendly, positive encouragement for eating the meal; a brief chat with a patient can be the highlight of their day
Remove barriers to food intake; put the tray close to the patient, open packages
Consider how volunteers can do some tasks to ensure meals are delivered on time
Discuss the possibility of those who deliver the tray to also record the amount eaten
Have food (all textures) available for patients outside of mealtimes, and for those who may have missed a meal

5. Identify when things can be improved
Let other staff know when a patient is struggling with eating
Communicate patient preferences
Complete periodic audits of mealtimes to understand
Preferred foods
Barriers to food intake
Where improvements can be made

6. Increasing Staff Awareness
Many unit staff may be unaware of how the food delivery system works at their hospital, where the food comes from or even how it tastes.
If there seem to be negative attitudes from staff regarding the food, an education and tasting session can change their perceptions.
Get patient and staff feedback about the food; what patients report as liking/disliking, or where improvements can be made.

7. Acknowledgements These slides were created and approved by:
Heather Keller
Celia Laur
Bridget Davidson
The More-2-Eat Education Group*
* Includes input from the UK Need for Nutrition Education/Innovation Programme (NNEdPro) Group
The More-2-Eat study was funded by the Canadian Frailty Network (known previously as Technology Evaluation in the Elderly Network, TVN), supported by Government of Canada through Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) Program