Anyone in the area who is looking for nutritious, well-balanced, and varied meals but who finds preparing and cooking them a challenge can take advantage of the “Dinners at Home” program offered at the Ashcroft Hospital by Interior Health and the Penticton Regional Hospital’s food services department.
“The Dinners at Home program was initially intended to recognize that nutrition is important, and to help bridge people who had been hospitalized back into their community,” says Andrew Pattison, the corporate director of support services for Interior Health. “People have nutritional needs after being in the hospital or being ill.”
However, not everyone is able to meet these nutritional needs once they return home, so the Dinners at Home program was developed, with meals produced at the regional production facility in Penticton and then sent out—either cold or frozen—through Interior Health’s cold supply chain. The program is now offered at 34 locations throughout the health authority, and is available to anyone who needs it.
“It’s not just for seniors; there’s no age restriction, no vetting or qualifying,” says Pattison. “It’s for anyone in danger of malnourishment. If someone in the community is aware of someone who is at risk of not getting the correct nutrition, they can refer them to the program. The meals meet all the nutritional recommendations and requirements of people.”
A leaflet (available at the Ashcroft Hospital) says that the meals are “a balanced nutritious alternative to cooking at home” and details the various dinner options available, which include roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, shepherd’s pie, baked ham, butter chicken, filet of sole or salmon, roast turkey and dressing, sweet and sour chicken, meatballs, and five vegetarian selections.
Most dinner selections come with potatoes (mashed, roasted, or scalloped) or rice, and vegetables. There are also six soup options, including chicken noodle, beef and barley, green pea, and borscht. Entrees are $5.75 each, while soups are $1.75 each. The dinner portions are described as good-sized, while each soup serving contains two portions.
“People can come in to the hospital and talk to someone and go through the menu,” says Pattison, noting it may be possible to try one of the meals before ordering. Once people have decided to try the service, “Pre-ordering is preferable. There’s no minimum or maximum number you can order. Some people have a few meals each week, and some have multiple meals in a day.”
Orders are delivered once a week on a Thursday, and can be picked up at the Ashcroft Hospital between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is a two-week turnaround after the first order, with a one week turnaround after that.
Meals can easily be stored in a freezer, and each one comes with reheating instructions for both ovens and microwaves. A summarized nutritional analysis is available upon request.
Those picking up meals should bring an insulated bag or cooler to transport the food safely. Since frozen foods must remain thoroughly frozen during transport, the use of ice packs is helpful on very hot days.
“The program started in Penticton in the early 2000s and expanded from there,” says Pattison. “It’s been in Ashcroft for many years. It’s a good service that’s been popular with people across our community.”
For more information about the Dinners at Home Program, call (250) 453-1924.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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