Curbside care

Caring for a loved one, especially an elderly or vulnerable family member during the COVID-19 pandemic, is not easy. In fact, it can be downright frightening.  

To help reduce the stress and anxiety many families are facing during this difficult time, St. Joseph’s Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) staff have been offering texture modified meals for former residents and patients through a safe and efficient curbside pickup service. Conveniently, the entrees are individually packaged and ready-to-eat once heated. 

In April, FNS staff arranged a time and safe location for families in need of these meals to pick up their orders.  After briefly parking their cars in front of the building, customers were greeted by FNS staff and provided their meals – ensuring physical distancing, masking and hand hygiene. Customers placed their orders through a St. Joseph’s Business Office to reduce the need for onsite payments or handling of receipts.

From left: Jim Marshall, Food and Nutritional Services (FNS) storekeeper, and Deana D'Ambrosio, FNS coordinator.The pair stand in front of Parkwood Institute Main Building waiting for former patients and residents to pick up texture modified meals through a curbside service prompted by COVID-19 and visitor restrictions.

We temporarily stopped this service due to the COVID-19 pandemic and visitor restrictions placed at our facilities,” says Deana D'Ambrosio, Coordinator of FNS at Parkwood Institute. “We recognized the need for this service and we were concerned for our regular customers and how they would manage.  We needed to come up with a creative way to get these meals to the people who needed them.”

Texture-modified meals are provided to people with chewing and swallowing difficulties, such as those with dysphagia. Foods may be pureed, chopped, mashed, minced or made soft to reduce the likelihood of choking. The meals can be cumbersome to make at home and are difficult to find in grocery stores.

The curbside pickup service offered at Parkwood Institute gives families another option when it comes to feeding family members who require texture-modified food. FNS staff have even offered to personally deliver the meals to the doorstep of former patients and residents if no means of pickup are available.

Becky Baker picks up her order of texture modified meals for a loved one at Parkwood Institute Main Building. This curbside service was made possible by St. Joseph’s Food and Nutritional Services team to help community members resume purchasing these important meals for family members with swallowing and eating difficulties, including dysphagia.

For people like Becky Baker, who recently picked up her order from FNS staff, the extra effort has not gone unnoticed.

“The meals are for a loved one,” says Becky. “I tried to make them myself but it’s harder than you would think. Parkwood Institute made it so easy and it means a great deal. It’s a hard time.”

The FNS team plans to offer the curbside service again as long as visitor restrictions remain in place–one grateful customer at a time.

Curbside pickup orders were made available to former patients and residents at Parkwood Institute who were previously receiving these modified meals prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. This service was a means to keep the program going during this difficult time. Community orders are not being placed at this time.