Natural disaster readiness and response is surprisingly related to foodservice, especially within senior living communities. As the main provider of food and dining resources, our senior dining teams find creative ways to stay safe while delivering satisfying and healthy meals for senior living residents during a range of events — from simple power outages to the complex COVID-19 global pandemic.
As 2021 moved forward, the Beacon Hill Resident Council took a moment to recognize our on-site leaders, Alan Ickes and Juliann Giannini, for outstanding care and creativity during the past year. Resident satisfaction and safety is at the forefront of our service, and to be recognized by this organized group of residents is an honor.
When presenting the award, the Beacon Hill Resident Council shared, “To ‘Our Valued Hero!’ Alan Ickes, and to ‘Our Lady of Joy!’ Juliann Giannini: in recognition of your outstanding service to all residents of Beacon Hill in a very difficult pandemic year, thank you for the many ways in which you displayed creativity and caring and blessed each resident through your culinary gifts. We treasure and value your positivity, your eagerness to please, and your humor. We are grateful to have you.”
A Story of Our Service During COVID
It’s no surprise that holiday dining looked a little different in December 2020. Senior living communities have continued to put the health and safety of residents first during COVID-19, rearranging large festive gatherings to accommodate social distancing. The holidays are an important time of togetherness, and with a dash of creativity we can still find ways to enjoy the season and delicious offerings.
Recently, our Senior Food Service Director Bill Dalesandro at Beacon Hill shared his team’s creative efforts to offer a festive meal for residents, who thought their annual Holiday Dinner would be impossible to enjoy together this year.
Bill shares, “The annual Holiday Wing Dinner is a yearly tradition that goes way back at Beacon Hill. In the resident apartment building, every hallway is called a ‘Wing’ and the residents who live in that Wing usually gather at Christmas time for a grand holiday dinner in the private dining room. Because of COVID, the dining room is closed and everyone just assumed that there wouldn’t be Wing Dinners this year. The culinary team at Beacon Hill refused to let this tradition slip away, and they found a way to bring the Wing Dinner Celebration to the residents’ homes where they served up a festive meal with holiday music.”
How to Improve Disaster Response and Readiness in Foodservice
Successful disaster response teams remain flexible and aware of changing situations, while communicating clearly with their teams to keep service safely running. Companies who are dedicated to combining disaster response requirements within their respective industry standards, while diligently following state and federal guidelines, will have a greater chance of success and mitigating risks.
As a dedicated foodservice company, it’s an honor to provide a resource of support to the body during stressful times. When disaster strikes, senior dining foodservice providers can shine by fostering a sense of normalcy, calm, and cheerfulness.
