How to deal with an independent living facility that serves poor quality food that isn’t edible due to chef’s lack of experience and skill?

Meet with dietary one on one. If they do weekly meal plans, notate on the plans 2-4 weeks of items you actually do like indicated. I bet there’s a pattern as to why. See if dietary can come up with a substitute meal plan for you.

Independent Living means that you have the ability to still be able to do for yourself. Your apartment should have some sort of mini kitchen at the least. IL means you are competent and cognitive enough on your decision making skills. You choose to continue to live there. Why is it that you cannot find another IL to move into?

If this situation has been going on for over a year and with no real improvement in that period of time, and if your meeting with dietary doesn’t provide for changes, it will imo not ever get better unless the IL has the ability to significantly increase (I’d guess by 20%) its pay rates for dietary staff & back of the house kitchen personnel with immediate benefits & increase its food budget by 30-35%. This IL would have to do huge rent increases which they won’t do.

Right now anything that has to deal with food - whether it’s at home, independent restaurant, part of a multi unit, foodservice at a school, hospital, a facility - all are facing supply chain issues, increased costs of products and uncertain labor costs. At home, we can switch out to do 70% bacon & egg’s rather than 70% eggs & bacon, but a facility can’t easily switch out. They are stuck having to do cheap crappy cuts of #10 cans. To be quite honest, dietary at IL, NH type of place is imo where a credential chef - like ACF, J&W level - ends up at bad careers end. A experienced chef can easily get a spot at a big hotel group with lots of BOH staff, equipment, good pay & benefits and ability to move other properties at best or vacay at these at a minimum.

If the kitchen is passing its safety and sanitation inspections, and its purchasing logs are meeting or exceeding dietary/ nutritional standards, and its menu plans are as well, they are in compliance. It gets into a grey area of preference and choice; that you prefer to and choose to get meals outside of those provided. That is the likely position the IL will take. if it’s been like this for over a year, review your contract as to how to a cancel it and find a new facility.

The food is usually pretty gross in most institutional settings. They try to spend as little money as possible on it, as they are for profit institutions.

Do you put your complaints and documentation in writing or just try to talk to them? In writing or via email might be a better option. And do you have suggestions to offer? At my mom's AL, they offer simple sandwiches for lunch or dinner if you don't want what's offered.

Can you say NO to meals and ask for a credit on your rent? Again, do it in writing.

Can you talk to other residents about how they feel about the food? If you have a number of residents that are willing to complain, sign a petition, etc., perhaps that would be helpful. But make sure your complaints are reasonable and don't come off as crazy and annoying.

Good luck.

Not many people want to work these days. Including but not limited to experienced chefs. Which is why your IL is having difficulty finding and keeping experienced chefs; it's a common problem throughout the industry.

Your facility is not cooking 'per doctor's orders' b/c it's not a medical facility. It's an independent living facility for capable seniors.

You can report the IL to whomever you like, but I doubt anything will be done about an employment issue.

Since nobody is forcing you to stay there, I'd move. You're self paying and should be getting a good quality food plan for your money. You'd have better luck doing that than filing complaints and expecting things to change. Unless there's health code violation going on or something like that.

You'd have less than no luck trying to convince a lawyer to take your 'case' claiming your health is suffering from poorly prepared and presented food when you have the ability to move! Hire a wheelchair van or medical moving service to move you out bodily, and a moving service to pack you up and get your belongings to another property.

Best of luck with a difficult situation.

What do other residents say? If you're the only one complaining, then it's likely your tastes, not everyone's.

Still, pursue it with the director of nutritional services there, plus the ombudsman.

Lucy,

I am sorry that the food in your independent living isn’t good.

It’s sad that you are having to spend additional money on food. I bet you wish that you could move into another building.

I like the suggestion of leaving a bad review of their food. Maybe if enough residents complained as a whole, things would improve.

Best wishes to you.

Has your doctor prescribed a particular diet with a set number of calories and a restriction of salts, fats, sugars....?
If so and they are not meeting the guidelines set by your doctor then they are in violation of a medical order. THAT can be reported.
You can contact the Ombudsman in your State and file a complaint.

I have to ask..Why are you not able to leave that particular facility?
there are other facilities and since this is an Independent Living facility you can leave and tour other facilities. (I suggest you do so at a meal time and sit and talk to residents.)

reading other responses I LOVE MargaretMcKen's comment to take this to Social Media. FB posts and comments do have impact

Sadly your only choice is a move. This is not uncommon. Institutional cooking, whether from schools or homes for the aged, has never been/is unlikely ever to be very good. It sounds to me that you have pretty much done all you can here. Sadly. I am so sorry. I have a distant family member in independent living. Tripped on sprinkler head that wouldn't go back into the ground and got a pretty good concussion. No matter what they have said and done, family cannot get them to address or fix this. And that is to say nothing about the general deterioration in what was a lovely complex a decade ago.

They are falsely advertising gormet meals if thats not what your getting,. I would call Office of Aging even Adult Protection Services. In some States, they are one and the same. I would want a credit to my rent for the food you had to buy.

This almost sounds like one for social media. Do they have a Facebook page? It's better if you aren't the only one making the running on it.

How about contacting the Office of Aging or the Department of Health?

1. Assuming you are dealing with a licensed facility, the meals have to meet nutritional guidelines.
2. Meals don't have to be tasty, they just must meet nutritional guidelines, conform to doctor's orders (e.g. soft foods, low sodium), and cannot cause health issues. For instance, the vegetables don't have to be fresh, they can be frozen or come from a can.
3. If the facility is licensed, they have to provide the meals they say they are going to have, plus conform to sanitation rules. Each state has their own rules to what is required around food. In my state, I was told that in the smaller licensed care facilities, must submit the next month's menus before the start of the month to ensure that it meets state guidelines. However, in some cases, what is submitted may not be exactly the same as what is served due to "resident's preference". In the larger facilities, they told us they have a rotating 10 or 12 week menu.
4. If the facility is unlicensed, then the office of aging may be able to help you to your satisfaction.
5. If the facility is unlicensed and you feel this is endangering your health, you might be able to get a lawyer to help you out.

Bottom line: This is why you want to be in a licensed facility, even if they cost more.

As a side note: My Mom was a registered dietician and did unannounced reviews of facilities for the state. She caught one facility using a single small can of tuna for the protein to feed 30 people. She remembered it throughout her entire life, even during her dementia. When we were researching facilities for her to move in, we always made sure they were licensed and we always observed what people were served during lunch and/or dinner. Food is a very important component of senior life.

As you are online, look up the Long Term Care Ombudsman for your area and report this problem to that office.