Inside Us Foods’ Comprehensive Approach To Foodservice Cost Management

When senior living providers deliver a great dining experience, their residents celebrate.

When they do it at a manageable cost, everyone celebrates.

US Foods®, a leading foodservice distributor with over 70 locations, partners with more than 250,000 restaurants and health care customers to bring exciting food offerings to senior living providers nationwide, at efficient and reasonable prices. Their VITALS strategy helps operators keep costs down, with an average reduction of 5% in overall operational expenses.

“Residents expect to have food that is both comforting and nourishing, just as they would in a five-star restaurant,” says Rob Burkhart, Vice President of National Sales in Healthcare for US Foods and leader of the VITALS team. “Along with using creative menu solutions, the US Foods® Business Solutions team works with operators to implement VITALS tools to keep standards high. The result is an increase in average resident experience score, time saved in onboarding software and overall savings in food cost.”

Here are the six steps that US Foods takes to help operators manage dining costs while delivering top results.

1. Enhance labor and staffing

Everything in senior living starts with staff members. Dining is no different. Through dynamic resource allocation, cross-training and reskilling, US Foods helps operators get the most out of their staff and empowers them to manage labor costs effectively.

“US Foods’ Labor Focus tool assesses staffing, optimizes productivity, evaluates labor patterns across all operational areas and includes comparisons to similarly sized facilities,” Burkhart says. “Collaborating with a Business Solutions specialist can enhance the tool’s capabilities, enabling operators to improve financial outcomes, analyze workforce training opportunities and forecast staffing adjustments for new meal programs.”

ROI of US Foods solutions: Improved financial outcomes, enhanced training opportunities and precise staffing forecasts for evolving meal programs.

1. Boost supply chain partnership

US Foods helps operators build a network of strategic supply chain partnerships, leveraging real-time data to drive cost savings. By using creative menu solutions such as BluePrint 360® and implementing test trays, feedback programs and tray line audits, operators are better able to align on goals with their supply chain partners.

ROI of US Foods solutions: Lower operational costs, enhanced product quality, reduced waste and increased organizational flexibility for greater profitability.

1. Leverage new technology

In many respects, modern senior living operations are tech-dependent. The ability to streamline operations, personalize services and optimize supply chain efficiency makes all the difference for operators.

ROI of US Foods solutions: Boosted operational efficiency, reduced labor and inventory costs and smarter data-driven decisions to drive profitability.

1. Modernize retail performance

Staying updated on every dining trend is easier said than done. With the partnership of US Foods, operators can offer diverse cuisines and dining formats that are accessible at all hours, delivering modern menus, effective signage, point-of-sale systems, robust pricing strategies and staff training.

“The US Foods Cafessentials® program equips foodservice operators with the latest trends, innovative concepts and streamlined retail solutions,” Burkhart says. “Additionally, employing strategies such as pricing reviews, analyzing capture rates and leveraging the Impact Insight tool can uncover growth opportunities. By optimizing the retail environment, operators can achieve increased revenue, reduced waste and enhanced employee engagement.”

ROI of US Foods solutions: Increased revenue, reduced waste and enhanced employee engagement through optimized retail environments.

1. Focus on cost management

Each of the prior four steps has a cost component, but to truly manage cost, breaking it out as a standalone focus is essential. Operators must be able to benchmark their performance against comparable facilities by using tools that facilitate cost-conscious decisions through analysis of key performance indicators.

ROI of US Foods solutions: Improved resource allocation, reduced waste and better control over food and operational expenses paving the way for fiscal strength.

1. Focus on resident satisfaction

Like with cost management, operators should think about resident satisfaction explicitly, and not only as a faction of the other steps. Tracking KPIs and benchmarking food and nutrition operations performance is an impactful way to drive happiness among your residents.

“The measurable values that food and nutrition operators use to help assess their performance vary from patient satisfaction scores to cost per patient day, and food waste percentage to retail revenue fluctuations,” Burkhart says. “Understanding these values and benchmarking performance against like-size facilities are crucial for quality improvement strategy, enhancing patient experience, and managing costs and operational efficiency.”

ROI of US Foods solutions: Improved patient satisfaction scores, streamlined onboarding and overall food and labor cost savings.

In the end, operators who partner with US Foods are seeing reduced dining costs and happier residents. And that’s something we can all celebrate.

This article is sponsored by US Foods. To learn more about how they can help your dining program, visit US Foods® VITALS | Healthcare Foodservice Solutions | US Foods.

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