Inclusive meals

Naming up diversity as a value of your service is not beneficial unless we take actions to be inclusive. Without inclusion, we are just pointing out how someone is different, which can be ‘othering’ and cause our clients to feel even more removed from the group or service.

By planning to act on inclusion, you could be making a real difference in someone’s life. Food is a wonderful way to promote inclusion. You could take steps to be more inclusive at meal times by:

• Identifying diversity you have amongst your clients and considering this in all aspects of your meal planning.
• Offering culturally diverse food choices.
• Providing a respectful and safe environment to meet the needs of your clients. Consider table settings, music, and the types of newspapers or magazines available to read.
• Including clients in decision-making and choosing what foods they would like to have.
• Adding a variety of cultural snacks, desserts, or drinks to try (especially if it is challenging to include more diverse main meals).
• Providing finger foods and/or texture modified foods for people with disabilities or dementia.
• Involving clients in cooking and in the table-setting process where practical.
• Avoiding conversations or comments that include judgement around food.
• Providing a size inclusive space, where staff, volunteers and other clients do not comment on anyone’s body size or shape (in relation to what they eat or otherwise). The only time that this is appropriate is when staff are screening for malnutrition individually with clients.

Food is more than “just nutrition”. It’s how we connect with others and with our culture. Providing diverse foods on the menu and catering for differences is just one way that services can show that all people are respected and included.