Standardized demonstration base for nutritional meals for the elderly

The Standardized Demonstration Base for Nutritional Meals for the Elderly is not an image project of "making the meals for the elderly into a big pot of uniform taste", but a replicable standard sample built based on the physiological characteristics and eating habits of the elderly, covering the entire process of ingredient selection, nutritional ratio, processing and distribution services. Currently, the demonstration base has been operated in China for one year. The fitness degree of the meals for the elderly is on average 37% higher than that of ordinary community canteens, and the dining satisfaction rate reaches 89%. It has effectively solved the three major pain points of the meals for the elderly that have long been "the elderly do not like to eat, children are worried, and the operation is difficult to make a profit".

Last month, I went to the provincial demonstration base in Gongshu District, Hangzhou for research. As soon as I entered the kitchen passage, I could smell the fresh aroma of mushroom stewed chicken. On the display shelf next to the window, there were nutritional cards for all the meals of the day, ranging from the sodium content and purine value of a plate of cold cucumbers to the GI index of multigrain rice. In vain, I happened to meet Aunt Zhang who often came to get food. She had been suffering from type 2 diabetes for almost 10 years. She took her blood sugar monitoring record and went to the catering staff. She changed the original 2 taels of multi-grain rice to 1 tael and a half, and added an extra small portion of stir-fried spinach. The customization was completed in less than a minute.

Speaking of which, the industry has been quarreling over the past two years about "how strictly standardization should be enforced." One group is an operator with a background in central kitchens. They feel that since it is called a standardized demonstration, all processes must be stuck: Northeastern rice must be soaked for 47 minutes in advance, the daily salt intake per person is strictly controlled within 4.5g, and the temperature of the steamer must be set at 102°C, and cannot be changed in the slightest. Otherwise, how can it be called "replicable"? The other group is a practitioner who started out as a community-based elderly care provider. They simply roll their eyes and say that you are doing things behind closed doors. The elderly in Sichuan and Chongqing have been eating spicy food all their lives. If you make Quandankou according to the standards of the Yangtze River Delta, people would rather eat pickles at home than come to eat at your place. No matter how perfect the standards are, what's the use?

I found a pretty reliable solution at the Gongshu base. Their standards are divided into two levels. The bottom layer is a red line that must not be touched: no ingredients with bones or spines are allowed to be stored in the warehouse. The hardness of the food must be measured with a professional tester and must be controlled at 400-600g/cm², which is just the level that an elderly person with bad teeth can chew without effort. The total daily sodium intake does not exceed 5g. No matter who is in charge of the operation, these cannot be changed. But above the red line, a full 20% "local adaptation quota" is left: for example, the elderly in Hangzhou love to drink Pian'erchuan, and the marinade can be appropriately added with a little local soybean paste to make it fresh. There is also a "nostalgic meal day" every Friday, such as sweet and sour pork ribs, molded dried vegetables and braised pork. People's favorite "heavy dishes" can still be served as long as the amount of oil and salt is kept within the standard line. Customized meals for chronically ill elderly people can be dynamically adjusted based on personal physical examination reports. For gout, there are fewer high-purine ingredients, and for kidney disease, protein intake is controlled. It is very flexible.

Of course, not all demonstration bases can hit this balance point. There was a pilot base in Zibo, Shandong Province at the end of last year. When it first opened, it adhered to national standards. All the dishes were cooked soft and no extra seasonings were added. The elderly stopped coming after half a month of eating. It lost almost 200,000 yuan in three months of operation and almost closed down. Later, we hired a local veteran chef who had been practicing Shandong cuisine for 30 years to change the recipe. He added the unique sauce flavor of Shandong cuisine within the scope allowed by the standards, and also added adapted versions of local traditional dishes such as crispy pot and tofu box. In less than a month, the customer volume tripled, and it has now become a local benchmark.

Nowadays, many people's impression of senior meals is still that it is "public welfare, losing money and making money". In fact, the well-run demonstration base has already developed a sustainable model. Take the Gongshu base I went to as an example. It covers 12 communities within 3 kilometers and has more than 2,000 permanent residents. In addition to dining in, it also provides cold chain delivery to homes. Every meal has a traceability code. Children can see the source of ingredients, nutritional content, and even the operation and monitoring of the kitchen that day on their mobile phones, which makes them feel at ease. Among the 27 provincial demonstration bases that have been implemented across the country, 82% have achieved breakeven after one year of operation. They are not living purely on government subsidies as everyone thinks.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the "standardization" of nutritional meals for the elderly has never meant that all dishes have the same taste, but that the most stable bottom line should be given to the elderly when it comes to eating - at least the food is safe, suitable for the teeth, and meets the needs of the body. As for those adjustments with local fireworks and the flexible space left for the elderly to "add whatever they want to eat," these demonstration bases are the core of how far these demonstration bases can really go. Do you think this is true?