Catering costs in Extra Care
We are currently looking at a new Extra Care Development and the cost of catering is a big issue for us. We would be interested to learn how other housing providers have made restaurants pay for themselves. We are particularly keen to learn about how the contract costs are passed on to residents, is this through service charges, direct sales to the resident collected by the catering company etc. We have a current scheme which is not really paying for itself as we are unable to get full cost recovery through service charges.
Afternoon Sarah.
This is a thorny issue and when I commissioned work on a food offer for our newest Extra Care Scheme, it was clear there wasn't a business model that would work for us. In our case we have built a care home and short breaks unit alongside the Extra Care to provide an 'anchor' for the food offer. One kitchen on site to serve the 80 resident in the care home and SBU and to deliver a front of house offer for the Extra Care residents and the wider community. Not open yet but modelling suggests this should work.
While you might not have the opportunity to start from base design principles like this, perhaps there is a local care home or other facility that could outreach a catering offer into your EC?
Don't have a direct answer, but am happy to discuss the rather different approach we are considering for new extra care.
Julian