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6/19/20
1
Take Control of Your Foodservice and Nutrition Budgets
Suzan Jackovatz, RDN, LD, President, Grace Nutrit ion Consult ing, LLC Reference information provided by Gordon Food Service
¡Main cost centers include Menus, Chemicals/Supplies and Staffing, Snacks/Supplements, Enteral Products
¡Staff levels must be set to meet needs.¡Menus must meet customer needs:
§What is the menu style? (select, non-select, cycle seasonal, weekly)§What type of service (buffet, fine dining, room service, central kitchen,
etc)§Who are your customers (seniors, school age, adults, special needs)§When is service needed (how many meals per day, times)§Location (how many dining rooms, in room trays served)§Equipment available§Enough staff and skilled labor (professional chefs, longevity, etc.)
¡ If you have an established customer base, you may already know what food is preferred. If not consider:§Menu questionnaires§Menu committees§Customer feedback
¡Healthcare facilities should work with their Registered Dietitian to ensure nutritional needs are met for the customers being served
¡ If between meal snacks and food related activities are included in your budget, this must also be included when assessing food cost
¡Most companies have an established food cost per Patient Day (PPD) already planned
¡Consider food cost while planning menus¡Most software packages can do this for you
§Need to ensure the recipes are the ones you are using§Make sure products used in the software are the ones you are using§Look at portion sizes!
¡ It can also be done by hand!§Calculating by hand takes longer, but can be very accurate§ Is a good idea if the products used in the software are different§Sometimes use a sample to estimated cost (ie cost out 2 of 4 weeks,
¡Example:§Chemicals- monthly invoice total: $500.00§Paper goods- monthly invoice total: $300.00§Kitchen replacements each month: $300.00§TOTAL= $1100 per month§Divide $1100 by census and # days per month to determine PPD
¡Use a spend down spreadsheet or software§Log invoices as they arrive§Review expenses and $ that remain for the month§Estimate how much you have to spend each week or on each order§Estimate standard bread and milk delivery costs (if using separate
vendors for this)§Example: $16,200 divided by 8 deliveries per month= $2025, try to
limit spending to this amount at each order §Note any discrepancies with charges, review invoice§Be diligent in making sure credits are received§Don’t forget to include small vendors and trips to the grocery store
¡Many facilities sell meals to staff and guests¡Cost for purchasing food for these meals can be substantial¡Some can yield a profit, some barely cover food cost ¡Revenue generated should be accounted for and credited
back to food (and supply) cost¡May not be credited back to food cost directly, but should be
noted on the spend down ¡For some departments, this is an essential business (most
hospitals)¡For other it’s more of a “perk” for employees and guests
§Take inventory with each order§Portions sizes (using the correct scoop?)§Recipes (followed?)§Substitutions (items were not available)§Food preferences (disliked item causing additional meals to be
prepared)§Leftovers- too much prepared (cooking full case when not needed)§Steamtable waste and plate waste§Perhaps menu changes are necessary (change high cost to low cost
items)§Theft- Do you know what’s going in and out?
¡Example 1§A 4oz portion of product X costs $.55 per portion§ If a 6oz portion (heaping scoop size) is served, the cost would = $.825§ If your census is 100:
§ 100 x .55= $55.00§ 100 x .825= $82.50§ This equates to $27.00 more spent each day§ If done for 30 days= $810.00/ month over budget
¡Following recipes is very important§Allows for a consistent product§Consistent food cost if followed§Scratch cooking can decrease food cost, however, may increase labor§Scratch cooking often improves taste and acceptance, especially in
healthcare settings§Restaurants set themselves apart with their “secret recipes”,
“homemade” products§Management should determine if labor costs justify scratch cooking§Modified scratch cooking is often done
These prices reflect the food cost only of 3 bean salad. Scratch is making the salad from dried garbanzo and kidney beans, canned green beans, and making the dressing. Speed scratch is using all canned beans and making the dressing. RTS is a canned, ready to serve salad. If making 100 servings, that would be 15.00 for scratch and 24.00 for RTS, a difference of $9.00. If it takes one hour of one person’s time to make the Three Bean Salad from scratch, then we have hit the break even point. It’s costing the same as the RTS salad.
¡Join a GPO (Group Purchasing Organization)§Make sure you know your contracted items§Provides assistance with choosing the best products §Provides rebates§Group pricing (like a Sam’s Club or Costco)§Savings on other items: medical supplies, supplements, chemicals
¡Work with your RD to Liberalize Diets§Very important in Long Term Care and Senior Living§Will improve customer satisfaction§Allow for seasoning foods to improve taste (doesn’t have to be salt!)§Decrease waste and call backs for alternative meals§ Increase customer choice:
¡Audit Supplements and Snacks§Work with your Registered Dietitian to determine if supplements are
still needed§Make rounds during snack times, observe what is thrown out or
uneaten§Talk to customers, determine preferences§Review intake logs and weights§ Ideally, review monthly or even quarterly at a minimum§Determine if too many snacks/supplements are cause of poor meal
¡Work with your Food Vendor to learn about new products and ideas§Attend Food Shows to learn about new/different products§Meet with your Rep to discuss menu concerns and provide feedback§Schedule menu planning days with your Representative§Attend educational sessions provided by vendors for free§Ask about their software that may be available to assist with your
¡Develop a good relationship with your customers§Have menu meetings to determine preferences§ Include your chefs, supervisors, cooks to attend meetings§ Include the customer in taste tests if possible§Make rounds, visit the customer, ask questions§Have staff make rounds too!§Encourage the Chef or Cook to visit customers in the dining room
when they are enjoying the meal§Send out surveys or questionnaires
¡Production Counts Matter!!§Provide staff with a good count§Train staff to follow production counts§Cook only the amount required§Avoid leftovers unless this is your intent§Purchase only what you need§Avoid over purchasing (ie purchasing a case of soy sauce when only 1
cup is needed for a recipe)§Avoid cooking the whole case when only half may be needed§Look at other options if you don’t need a 10# roast, are there smaller
sizes or other options? (ie cooking 5 pork chops instead of a 10# roast)
¡AGAIN, Menus Matter!!§Plan meals wisely§Offer choices customers will like§Offer popular items as the main meal (not the alternative)§Decide if convenience items are appropriate§Offer a variety, unpopular items may need to be an alternative (ie
brussel sprouts, liver)§Calculate menu costs for standard portion sizes§Provide correct portions when serving§Use a waste logbook to to track waste (see examples)