There are two philosophies about planning I like to remember when embarking on any project. First: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”, and second: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray” (apologies to my Gaelic friends).

I have a healthy respect for both of these philosophies, so I am comfortable with telling you that we do have a plan, we just don’t have all the details worked out yet!

Our overall Food Services improvement project encompasses six subprojects that will run somewhat simultaneously. A number of the subprojects are underway and some are still in the design stage.

They include:

1. Sourcing local products and using them to create recipes, and conducting media and internal events to inform and celebrate this initiative, all using our grant from the provincial government’s Greenbelt Fund.
2. Purchasing new cooking equipment, also using the Greenbelt Fund grant.
3. Setting new menu parameters and designing a new ’bedside choice’ patient menu.
4. Information technology evaluation and upgrade to support bedside menu choices.
5. Designing and purchasing new tray assembly equipment (pods).
6. Designing new work schedules/job routines and conducting staff development.

So the plan is to have all six subprojects completed in time for our final rollout. Date TBD!