SENIOR DINING
St. Luke’s University Health Center Network finds antidote to elderly isolation
With Metz Culinary Management’s new program, the network is getting seniors out of the house for food and fellowship and letting “early birds” keep the late afternoon downtime busy.
BY TAD WILKES
T he simple concept of afford- able, home-style meals for older adults has grown into a community rallying point for seniors at campuses of St. Luke’s University Health Center Net- work. The Older Adult Meal Program, operated by Metz Culinary Manage- ment, draws seniors in increasing num- bers to nine hospital cafeteria locations for a nourishing dinner, along with com- panionship and health education. The Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based network’s aim is to address two of the major issues confronting an aging popula- tion: access to good, affordable meals and to give otherwise lonely, isolated seniors fellowship with others in their age group. “The initial impetus of the program was to get Older Adults comfortable leaving their homes again post-[the COVID-19 pandemic],” says Matt Furlan, district manager for Metz Culinary Man- agement, which operates the cafeterias on all St. Luke’s campuses. “Concerns about exposure led many older adults to avoid grocery stores, congregate meal sites or restaurants, which further limited their access to healthy, affordable food.”
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QUARTERLY | Q4
PHOTOS COURTESY OF METZ CULINARY MANAGEMENT
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