The Art of Delicious

WHCA PresentationMay 19th, 2020

A Quick Introduction To The Springs Living

• Founded in 1996, The Springs Living owns/operates 17 communities in Oregon and Montana– Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, totaling 2,400 units and

1,600 employees

– Check out our story at: https://www.thespringsliving.com/

• What drives and motivates us at The Springs Living:– Our Purpose: Is to help our residents, their families, and each other, live life to its

fullest

– Our Mission: Is to positively change the way people think, feel and experience senior living

– Our Plan: Is to positively change the way people think, feel and experience working in senior living

Some Culinary Thoughts To Ponder Today

• What is your company’s mission & vision for the culinary experience of your residents, their guests, and your staff?

• What values does your company hold around food and the meals you prepare for your residents, their guests and your staff?

• What drives your decisions when it comes to food and meals in your communities?

• What do your residents, their guests and your staff desire when it comes to the culinary experience in your communities?

Our Original Culinary Problem Statement

• Like most senior living operators, we found ourselves asking:– Despite spending more on our dining costs, why are our resident/family

survey results not increasing? Why are they decreasing?

– How do we lower food costs, while increasing quality and nutrition?

– How do we make food, more than just nutritional intake, and a more holistic experience?

– How do we handle resident (and family) requests for unique food offerings, diets and choices, as well as a greater connection to their food?

– The senior industry claims “restaurant-style” offerings, but let’s be honest with ourselves – does our offering resemble a culinary-artistic restaurant or just a heat/serve service?

– How do we strive to do the right thing for our local farming communities and environment – especially in eco-friendly Oregon?

Our Solution To The Culinary Problem Statement

• We contemplated taking the typical industry action to improve our culinary programs (standardizing menus, negotiating better raw food deals, implementing a Sysco/US Foods planned menu system, hiring a new chef)

• We studied the progressive Portland, Oregon food scene – focus on fresh and local, farm-to-fork offerings

• We surveyed our residents, their families and our employees to see what they truly desired, challenging our pre-conceived beliefs

• We sought culinary consultative support from outside our industry

• We came to the critical conclusion: we offered a “dining program” and not a “culinary experience”

• Through this deep consideration and focus, we realized we needed to think completely differently about food

• We took a bold step and formed The Art of Delicious

The Art of Delicious

• Culinary Wellness Mission: At The Springs Living communities, we strive to deliver culinary excellence by partnering with farmers, growers and producers who follow ethical and moral practices; by offering healthy menu choices; and by engaging with our residents and staff.

• Our Purpose: Is to provide wholesome, nutritious and flavorful food that will enrich the lives of our residents and staff.

The Art of Delicious

• We Accomplish this by delivering excellent dining choices with confident and cordial customer service; by sharing knowledge of ethical food sourcing; by providing interesting food and nutritional tips; by offering health-choice cooking classes; and by rallying the community in engaging culinary activities.

The Art of Delicious

• Our Food Values are based on sourcing, partnering and purchasing food from farmers, growers, ranchers and artisans with ethical and moral practices that uphold the highest standards of environmental responsibility, animal welfare, social justice and sustainable food production methods, and follow these principles:– Farms are local/regional and operate using sustainable practices

– Partners follow fair trade principles

– Seafood suppliers are aligned with Seafood Watch and/or MSC-Certified Seafood

– Poultry is produced without the routine use of antibiotics as a feed additive

– Beef from cattle raised without the use of non-therapeutic antibiotics or growth hormones

– Dairy produced without the use of rBGH/rBST

– Shell eggs come from certified cage-free chickens

– When local or regional food sources are not available (such as coffee, juice, fresh fruits), we will select partners who share our food values.

The Art of Delicious

• Our Kitchen Principles are focused on healthy, mindful food preparation and menu planning, and follow these principles:– Scratch cooking is our foundation

– Plan menus based on fresh, seasonal ingredients

– Use olive oil and canola oil for dressings and cooking – no peanut oil in our kitchens

– Never use trans-fats

How Do You Change Your Entire Culinary Program?

• Establish a clear and concise vision, as well as detailed values and approach

• Have a passionate advocate and get entire management team buy-in

• Seek resident and employee consensus and buy-in through repetitive education opportunities, small interest group discussions, regular feedback surveys and townhall presentation events

• Create resident and employee “super-stakeholders” to help us implement our new methodology – as well as to serve as cheerleaders for the new approach

• Identify the right food vendors and partnerships with vendors that have similar mission and values – they are more prevalent than you would think!

• Assess your current equipment and kitchen capacity – i.e.: do you have enough refrigerator space for all the new fresh food and what do you do with that freezer you no longer use?

• Assess you culinary teams’ menu planning and cooking skills, and start small with new learning opportunities

What Does The Art Of Delicious Look Like 4 Years Later?

Menu Review - Including Seasonal and Monthly Selections (See Handouts)

What Does The Art Of Delicious Look Like 4 Years Later?

Monthly Food Stories – Displayed in All Communities and Featured on the Seasonal Menus (See Handouts)

What Does The Art Of Delicious Look Like 4 Years Later?

Resident and Employee Food Tours at the Food Source

What Does The Art Of Delicious Look Like 4 Years Later?

Resident and Employee Food Tours at the Food Source

What Does The Art Of Delicious Look Like 4 Years Later?

Monthly Community Food Presentations and Cooking Demonstrations

What Does The Art Of Delicious Look Like 4 Years Later?

Community Farmers Markets Featuring The Farmer – Free of Charge To Residents

What Does The Art Of Delicious Look Like 4 Years Later?

Fancho’s Public House

What Does The Art Of Delicious Look Like 4 Years Later?

Connecting the Team and the Vision To Residents & Guests

Did We Solve Our Original Problem Statement?• Across our communities, we have solid, but varied implementation of The Art of

Delicious program – each community had to engage and implement at their own speed for long-term success

• Food survey scores initially went down, before improving significantly – change is tough for everyone and it does not happen overnight!

• Food costs remained neutral from pre-implementation levels – but our food quality and freshness increased significantly– Our communities run food PRD’s of $6.00 to $9.00, as culinary values can be scaled to the

specific operation’s budget, resident preferences and culinary team’s abilities

• Residents are no longer just coming to the dining room to eat – they are engaged in a culinary experience – nutritional, social, educational and vocational wellness

• Families join more often for meals because our offerings rival the best restaurants in the area and employees are highly engaged

• We market the many successes of the program, resulting in improved market differential, increased value generation and higher revenue opportunities

• Yes – We solved our original problem statement, but our journey has just begun

Some Challenges to Consider• Supply Chain management with farm-to-fork can be a challenge. How will you

build partnerships with local/regional purveyors who can support your culinary values?

• Cooking technology is changing but most of our kitchen designs have not. How will you redesign your kitchens to support your culinary values?

• Labor will continue to be in short supply for the foreseeable future. How will you execute on a labor-intense vision in a tight labor market?

• How will you develop your staff to execute on your culinary values when most will not come to you with the skills needed to be effective?

• Plant-based diets are becoming much more mainstream. How will you address this as you operationalize your culinary values?

• How will you address regional differences and still maintain quality and consistency across your organization?

Final Words Of Wisdom To Ponder

As an senior living industry, are we all thinking differently and innovating, to positively change the way people think,

feel and experience senior living?