I can't eat all of that!

We often hear older people exclaim: 'I can't eat all of that'!  The meal size may look quite small to us when our appetites are healthy.  Unfortunately, as we age, activity and appetites can dwindle.  We must keep this in mind when we are providing meals- we need to offer a range of serve sizes.  This can be very challenging.

Many aged care homes document that residents require a small, medium or large serve.  In practice what does this mean?  Do we use different sized serving utensils for each size?  Over the years, NPA have seen very few homes that have standard serves sizes documented with the respective serving utensils.  It is often left to each staff member to determine the size of the meal.

If the serves are bigger than the resident's appetite, we run the risk of them not eating anything at all and the resident becoming even more malnourished.  If a resident requests small or extra small serves, this should be respected but the mid meals and nourishing fluids become even more important as a source of nutrients.

If a resident requests a small, medium or large serve we need to provide the right quantity consistently across the menu!