SARASOTA FLA. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
Approximately 500 health care foodservice operators, nutritionists, dietitians and exhibitors attended the conference, which was titled “Learning From the Past…Leading Into the Future.” At the conference, the organization, which turned 40 this year, focused on the evolution of health care foodservice over the past four decades and issues that pose challenges for the segment, including the increasing demand for ethnic fare and diverse flavors. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
“There are four growth drivers of ethnic foods: changing demographics, travel, the excitement of tasting new flavors and media exposure,” said John Cabot, senior vice president of marketing and sales for the health care division of distributor U.S. Foodservice. Cabot, who moderated a panel on emerging trends and diversity, also noted it is important for health care foodservice professionals to keep the customer in mind. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
“Think about the customers you service, who you sell to and what you see concerning their interests and demands,” he said. “Ask yourself what you are going to do to meet those demands and how you can freshen what you’re already doing in order to be more in tune with the bigger trends.” —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
According to Joan Ralph, Cabot’s co-moderator and vice president of support services for Charlotte, N.C.-based consultancy Premier Inc., hospital foodservice customers, from patients to employees to visitors, all want the same things—entertainment, sophistication and value, the same things they could expect to find in commercial restaurant settings. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
“Customers are boisterous and asking for what they want,” she said. “They’re more worldly and educated and want [in hospitals] what they’re seeing in restaurants.” —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
To that end, Ralph said that consumers are interested in bold flavors, such as Fuji apples on freshly prepared salads with sophisticated dressings like banana-ginger vinaigrette, better breads and creative condiments that feature ethnic accents. She further noted that breakfast sandwiches, yogurt parfaits and cereal bars continue to increase sales across the segment. Both moderators agreed that sales of fruit juices and smoothies are on the rise, as is the demand for gourmet coffee. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
Another emerging food trend is bite-sized desserts, Ralph said. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
“Even if they’ve had a big meal, they still want dessert, so a bite-sized treat is a wonderful way to satisfy customers and increase check size,” she said. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
Ralph said other emerging food trends include specialty sandwiches, Latin American and Mediterranean items, pan-seared foods and the use of fresh herbs and exotic mushrooms. “They make a dish seem that much more extravagant,” she said. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
And, Cabot noted, adding one ethnic accent to an item changes the whole thing. “It changes the overall perception of what it’s all about,” he said. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
He also said customers are savvier about healthful items and the pressure is on foodservice providers to offer more of them on their menus. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
“Right now we are more fad-diet conscious, but by the year 2010 we will be a health-conscious society [interested] in sustained dieting, nutritionally aware and acting on health issues,” he said. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
To that end, he observed, grab-and-go foods are enjoying increased popularity not only for their convenience but also because they are served in more manageable portion sizes. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
“Portion control is top of mind,” he said. “Because of obesity, people need self-policing.” —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
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Participants also addressed how the role of marketing has changed in health care foodservice. Patti Dollarhide, former director of nutrition services at Via Christi Hospital in Wichita, Kan., and current market segment sales manager for Cargill Value Added Meats, told attendees that upgrading the food at Via Christi and then publicizing it made a difference in terms of sales and her department’s public recognition. To accomplish that, she hired a former hotel chef to oversee the kitchen operation and then enlisted the hospital’s marketing department to spread the word. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
“We decided we really had to focus on the food and partner with someone already in the hospital—our marketing department—to change the way people thought about our food,” she said. “Part of our team’s mission was to be a strategic partner, not just support. We wanted to be an asset to our industry.” —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
Tony Almeida, director of food and nutrition/environment/host services for Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, a level-one trauma center in New Brunswick, N.J., said, “Everything we do is marketing, from the way your staff looks to the presentation of the food.” —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
Richard Martin, executive editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and moderator of the general session, said today’s consumers are practically demanding “the jettisoning of hydrogenated oils, more grilling, less frying and the use of more locally sourced ingredients. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
“It’s clear that consumers’ attitudes have evolved toward nutrition and health, and there is a heightened regard toward additives,” Martin said. “Of course, the Food Network is out there influencing everyone everywhere.” —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
In addition to the educational sessions, this year’s conference also saw the induction of William Notte, director of food and nutrition services at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., as ASHFSA’s new president. He assumed the presidency from Phyllis A. Filgate, director of foodservice for the Veterans Integrated Service Network 3 of New York, who is retiring from her V.A. post at the end of the year. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
In addition, Regina Toomey-Bueno, director of food, nutrition and transport for the Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, N.J., and a past president of ASHFSA, was named winner of the 2007 Jacques Bloch Award, the organization’s highest honor. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.
Patti Oliver, director of nutrition services for UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, was named Operator of the Year. —The impact of changing consumer tastes, health and wellness concerns, and the upscaling of hospital fare were among the key issues addressed at the 2007 American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrators conference held here recently.