Wanted: New Approaches for Food Service Provision in Care Homes of the Future

Abstract

The increasing complexity of care home residents’ needs, driven by demographic shifts, multimorbidity and late-stage admissions, poses significant challenges for food service provision in Swiss care homes. Current systems struggle to meet individual nutritional and psychosocial needs due to staff shortages, financial constraints and rigid infrastructures. This perspective article explores the necessity for a more individualised and systematic approach to food services in long-term care settings, with a particular focus on developing resident personas as a guiding tool. Such personas, based on typical end-of-life disease trajectories, can support tailored food service planning and staffing. The authors highlight the inadequacy of current food service models, which often fail to accommodate residents’ diverse health conditions and personal preferences. They emphasise the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration of resident-centred strategies. Achieving this calls for a shift from fragmented, chef-driven decisions to a holistic, evidence-based system. By aligning food services with specific resident profiles, care homes can optimise resources, improve quality of life and enhance overall care. Future research should focus on applied, interdisciplinary solutions that address the interdependencies between nutrition, health and operational feasibility in care homes.