With recent reports claiming that “39% of all consumers and 57% of consumers ages 18 to 34 say their definition of snacks has changed over the past two years,” the FSD Culinary Council, as well as various healthcare institutions, are scrambling to better accommodate all the newest snack trends. For healthcare facilities this need is about more than just convenience. Patient’s need stability, which means providers have to make their stay as comfortable and homey as possible. If you have a patient that snacks all day instead of eating three main meals, their health and satisfaction is likely to be affected in a facility following a rigid mealtime schedule. However, if healthcare facilities, like yours, can adapt to these new snack trends without compromising quality of care, everyone wins! And here’s how you can start:
Grab-and-Go
One of the biggest reasons more people are snacking rather than sitting down for a full hour to enjoy a proper meal is simply a lack of time. Compared to the mid-ninetieth century, more and more households are dual income, which means there isn’t always someone home to make full breakfasts, pack lunches, and prepare five-course dinners every day. There simply isn’t enough time, and the convenience of grab-and-go is simply too tempting to pass up. For healthcare settings where staff is constantly on call and patients have unforgiving treatment schedules, this is even more true, which is why it really doesn’t even make sense to try and stick with a set mealtime schedule.
Homemade
Patients today may not always know what’s going on with their own health, but that doesn’t mean that they are any less health conscious in this age of information. Of course, while many healthcare leaders continue to rejoice over the new enthusiasm for using proper nutrition to improve health, it has also made patients a lot pickier when it comes to what they are and are not willing to eat. Patients are more aware than ever of the dangers of processed foods, so, to combat any distasteful glances at your facility’s mealtime, adding more healthful, homemade items to your menu is sure to elevate their enthusiasm.
Prepared Boxes: The Best of Both Worlds?
Snack packs are everywhere. They often contain the perfect amount of protein along with nuts, cheeses, crackers, dried fruit, and other filling ingredients to create an ideal small meal to tide anyone over till their next meal. It’s just as easy to make your own, fresh snack packs that your patients and staff can enjoy every day without having to bring their own. Best of all, you can control exactly what ingredients are used, and tailor them for each patient’s nutritional needs and personal preferences, allowing you to maintain control at all times.
Healthy
One of the main reasons patients are all about homemade snacks is the amount of control over which ingredients are used and in what proportions. Processed snacks often have tons of sugar, sodium, fat, and other unhealthy ingredients that are a big turn off thanks to recent food trends. Of course, this is the perfect opportunity for healthcare providers looking to be a part of the snack craze, as healthy snacks are now in style!
Kicking Sweets To The Curb
Nothing says snacking healthier than breaking up with sugar, and that’s what a lot of people are doing. That means, the only thing you have to do to keep up with this trend is make sure your patients have access to all the fruits and veggies they want, and start waning away from cookies, cakes, and other sugary treats.
It’s rare for patients’ needs and desires to match up so perfectly, and yet it seems that now we are sprinting full speed in that direction – so don’t allow this incredible opportunity to be wasted. For more information on how you can make your facility’s mealtimes more convenient and nutritionally oriented, consult with our seasoned experts at Vision Software. Call 629.777.8989, or fill in the free consultation form in the sidebar, to learn more about how our software can positively impact the lives of the patients and visitors you service every day.