Food, nutrition report 2022: spending rises, innovation improves

The Department of Health and Aged Care has released a new report outlining the trends associated with the Basic Daily Fee (BDF) Supplement in residential aged care for the 2021–22 financial year.

The report highlights the increased spending on food for residents living in aged care facilities, but also shines a light on the innovative practices implemented by some providers in an effort to improve the daily life and wellbeing of older people by enhancing their experiences with food.

Varied meals of suitable quality and quantity are required to ensure consumers have enough nutrition, good health and reduced risk of malnutrition and dehydration, but good food and related experiences also have an impact on general wellbeing.

“Innovations noted by the report include a greater use of kitchen gardens in aged care homes and a greater use of digital technology to support meal choice and on measuring mealtime experiences,” said Tom Symondson, Aged & Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA) CEO.

Technological innovation included using an iPad to personalise and record individual meal or snack preferences. Digital technology was also used for monitoring residents’ nutrition and to support chefs and facility staff to become ‘nutrition champions’ by training on online platforms.

New measures evaluated the popularity of the meals and recorded individual meal feedback and cooking preferences, plus individual consumption details.

A digital ‘look-book’ containing images of the meals helped staff prepare and present them correctly and allowed residents living with dementia or reading impairments to be involved in meal choice.

Further innovation included translating menus into other languages as appropriate and a specific focus on cultural celebrations and traditions by employing chefs with relevant cultural backgrounds to ensure authenticity. Different food options, like kangaroo tail, were also offered for First Nations residents.

Some providers introduced special mealtime events to celebrate national and international special events like St Patrick’s Day, Maltese Independence Day and the Melbourne Cup. During the summer, a colourful musical trolley delivered cold drinks and flavoured ice blocks to prevent dehydration.

To ensure sustainable practice, a tool was developed to measure food waste and processes were implemented to enable effective food management.

“Good quality food and nutrition are vital to the health and wellbeing of older Australians. It is also essential for their daily enjoyment of life, as noted by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety,” Symondson said.

The report also showed that spending on food for people living in residential aged care has continued to increase with three-quarters of aged care providers spending more than $10 a day on food per resident in aged care homes. An average of $14.46 was spent on food per resident per day in 2021–22, calculated from all services who reported.

Over 2700 individual services received the additional $10 per person per day with 99% of providers signing up for the BDF supplement — those providers received $699.71 million.

There was a 1% decrease in the number of residential services spending less than $6 per resident per day on food and ingredients in the six months to 30 June 2022 and the average spend per resident per day increased quarter on quarter for all expenditure models. Quarter 3 showed a substantial increase of over 8% for services reporting expenditure on contract catering.

“This second Food and Nutrition Report shows that the majority of residential aged care providers are doing the right thing by providing nutritious food for their residents,” Symondson said.

In 2021–22, 76% of residential services reported their expenditure as food and ingredients only, followed by 22% reporting a combination of food and ingredients and contract catering, with the remaining 2% reporting contract catering only.

Symondson added, “Too often food in aged care gets a bad rap — unfairly so. Food and nutrition is a complex area for older people in residential care who will have different needs based on their health, personal preferences and cultural background.”

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