For Don Steinman, a fine meal prepared with love was always a gift he was proud to offer his family and friends, especially during the holidays. On Thanksgiving Day, for example, his wife would venture out with their children to line the streets of Kitchener for the Oktoberfest parade, and he’d be in the kitchen preparing the annual feast.
He reflects on these memories today from his home in long-term care in the Village at University Gates, where he and a large group of fellow residents and team members had recently shared a communal Christmas feast together. The idea for the collective “family-style” dinner grew out of conversations the team had during their annual Operational Planning retreat in October, says Food Services Director Becky Golbeck, who helped organize the event alongside her counterpart, Liz Barre.
“There was this ‘want’ to always do more with residents,” Becky says, “and the idea just sort of evolved from there.”
Food is a natural way to encourage involvement with residents, because practically everyone has favourite dishes and meals in their memory bank, and a collective meal created with everyone’s input taps into that.
For this feast, there were homemade pies, creamed corn from scratch, fresh cranberry sauce boiled down in-house, and a variety of vegetable dishes to go with the roasted turkey and mashed potatoes. Don was behind the stuffing, which he insisted must be done properly within the turkey to maintain optimal moisture – it has always been one of his specialties.
In the lead-up to the dinner, Becky and Liz had the opportunity to sit down with each of the residents who expressed interest in participating. They spoke about their traditions and their favourite foods, and as they all came together to prepare over two days, unique personal experiences flowed over the smell of chopped onion and celery while the rich fragrance of roast turkey filled the air.
It was the opportunity to connect with residents in a meaningful way that Liz and Becky both found to be one of the greatest rewards of the event, aside from the meal itself, and Don shares the same perspective.
It felt good to help prepare a holiday meal again, he says, and he was proud to be asked to carve the turkey. There was pride among many of the residents throughout the entire process, for each was able to bring a bit of the past to life upon a bountiful holiday table.
In a Village that shares the aspiration to create truly authentic relationships among team members and residents, it was a beautiful gift for all.
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