COVER STORY: ‘Food-first’: Putting nutrition at the heart of care

Care homes are caring for residents with increasingly complex needs. Many are living with frailty, dementia or swallowing difficulties. At the same time, care teams are working under significant operational pressure. In this context, the wider role catering can play in residents’ lives can be overlooked.

However, few aspects of care touch a resident’s life as often as food and drink. Mealtimes provide opportunities to support health, encourage independence and enable social connection, while providing structure, pleasure and dignity.

Maintaining a good nutritional intake can become increasingly difficult with age. Changes in appetite, illness, medication side effects, cognitive decline, poor dentition and swallowing difficulties can all affect how much a resident eats and drinks. People living in care homes or requiring care are recognised as being at increased risk of poor nutritional status and malnutrition.¹