If you own or operate a nursing home, there's one big decision you'll need to make when it comes to the food. You can either hire your own staff members to prepare and serve the meals or contract with an outside food service company. While some nursing homes do hire their own staff successfully, in most cases, you are better off contracting with an existing food service company. Here's why.

You don't have to train staff members

Training staff members for food service can be a huge burden. Many food service positions are entry level jobs, so the people who apply and are hired don't always have much experience. If you contract with a food service company, it will be up to them to train their workers. They likely already have established protocols and systems for training, so you do not have to put countless hours into developing your own.

You'll be guaranteed a certain number of workers each day

If you were to hire your own kitchen staff, it would be your responsibility to replace workers who call in sick or do not show up on time. Some days, you may be left under-staffed, which is not a good situation since your residents still need to eat on time. Food service management companies often serve and prepare food at many locations, so they have a wealth of workers they can draw on if their normal team is understaffed or ill. If one team member is sick, they will send in another. This is very helpful in facilities like nursing homes where it's important not to have sick workers on staff for fear that they'll spread their germs to the residents.

The can draw on experience to know what residents enjoy eating

Especially if the food service company has worked in nursing homes before, they will be familiar with what residents enjoy eating, and what meals don't "go over" as well. For instance, they may know that more residents tend to choose roast beef over chicken, but that if they only offer chicken and fish, more residents will choose fish. This not only ensures your residents are happy with the meal options, but it also helps cut down on food waste.

Start looking into food service management companies in your area. If you can find one that has worked in nursing home environments in the past, contracting with them is sure to simplify your processes. For more information, contact a business such as New Horizon Foods.