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Abstract
Aim
Funding cuts to the aged care industry impact catering budgets and aged care staffing levels, which may in turn affect the nutritional status of aged care residents. This paper reports average food expenditure and trends in Australian residential aged care facilities (RACFs).
Methods
This is a retrospective study collecting RACFs’ economic outlay data through a quarterly online survey conducted over the 2015 and 2016 financial years.
Results
Data were compiled from 817 RACFs, representing 64 256 residential beds and 23 million bed-days Australia-wide. The average total spend in Australian Dollars (AUD) on catering consumables (including cutlery/crockery, supplements, paper goods) was $8.00 per resident per day (prpd) and $6.08 prpd when looking at the raw food and ingredients budget alone. Additional data from over half the RACFs (n = 456, 56%) indicate a 5% decrease in food cost ($0.31 prpd) in the last year, particularly in fresh produce, with a simultaneous 128% ($0.50 prpd) increase in cost for supplements and food replacements. Current figures are comparatively less than aged care food budgets internationally (US, UK and Canada), less than community-dwelling older adults ($17.25 prpd) and 136% less than Australian corrective services ($8.25 prpd).
Conclusions
The current spend on food in RACFs has decreased compared with previous years, reflecting an increasing reliance on supplements, and is significantly less than current community food spend.
Funding cuts to the aged care industry impact catering budgets and aged care staffing levels, which may in turn affect the nutritional status of aged care residents. This paper reports average food expenditure and trends in Australian residential aged care facilities (RACFs).
Methods
This is a retrospective study collecting RACFs’ economic outlay data through a quarterly online survey conducted over the 2015 and 2016 financial years.
Results
Data were compiled from 817 RACFs, representing 64 256 residential beds and 23 million bed-days Australia-wide. The average total spend in Australian Dollars (AUD) on catering consumables (including cutlery/crockery, supplements, paper goods) was $8.00 per resident per day (prpd) and $6.08 prpd when looking at the raw food and ingredients budget alone. Additional data from over half the RACFs (n = 456, 56%) indicate a 5% decrease in food cost ($0.31 prpd) in the last year, particularly in fresh produce, with a simultaneous 128% ($0.50 prpd) increase in cost for supplements and food replacements. Current figures are comparatively less than aged care food budgets internationally (US, UK and Canada), less than community-dwelling older adults ($17.25 prpd) and 136% less than Australian corrective services ($8.25 prpd).
Conclusions
The current spend on food in RACFs has decreased compared with previous years, reflecting an increasing reliance on supplements, and is significantly less than current community food spend.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 6-10 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Nutrition and Dietetics |
Volume | 75 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 25 Jul 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2018 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'What does it cost to feed aged care residents in Australia?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Related Projects
- 1 Active
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Ageing Nutrition: Research Across the Care Continuum
Marshall, S., Isenring, E., Hugo, C., Agarwal, E., Teleni, L., Reidlinger, D., Campbell, K., Van der Meij, B. & Tang, X.
1/01/14 → …
Project: Research
Related Research Outputs
- 18 Citations
- 1 Letter
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Response to Gunasingam Retnasabapathy Re: Concerns about the study, ‘What does it cost to feed aged care residents in Australia?’
Isenring, E., Hugo, C. & Agarwal, E., 8 Apr 2019, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Nutrition and Dietetics. 76, 2, p. 242-243 2 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › Research