Breakfast buffet expands meal times and options for aged care residents

Benetas is offering more choice to its aged care residents after introducing a breakfast buffet at its Kangaroo Flat aged care home in Bendigo.

In August, the aged care home moved away from its 8am-9am set menu breakfast service in favour of a buffet-style setup, offering timings and variety that better suit the home’s residents.

Under the new initiative, the night shift catering staff set up breakfast early in the morning, providing delicious and nutritious food when the first resident wakes up until all residents have had a chance to eat.

The new program features a range of cereals and dispensers, breads and toasters, porridge in a crockpot that has cooked overnight, along with condiments and juices.

Expanding the time and type of food not only makes the first meal of the day more convenient but has proven a great way to provide residents with more choice.

Benetas CEO Sandra Hills OAM said the new setup had made an instant impact to the residents at Kangaroo Flat who now enjoyed more variety and flexibility.

“Residents can now enjoy more options and come down to start their days as early or as late as they please,” Ms Hills said

“More than 60 per cent of residents are already benefitting from the change, selecting from a variety of options every day, increasing both mind alertness and appetite.

“By being able to see and smell the food on offer, it creates a much more inviting atmosphere and a lot more choice.”

The breakfast buffet program will soon be rolled out at Benetas’ Broughton Hall home in Camberwell as well as Eaglehawk which is located in Bendigo, before being implemented across all 12 Benetas aged care homes.

Benetas has also recently implemented a “pot and parma” event at its Corowa Court aged care home with residents enjoying the traditional pub fare with either chips or salad and a beer or a glass of wine.

Corowa Court residents can also take part in a “cooking with the chef” initiative, learning how to prepare some of their favourite dishes alongside their aged care home’s head chef.