Maybe it’s Mom’s spaghetti and meatballs. Perhaps it’s Grandma’s apple strudel or Dad’s chili. Every family has that favorite dish. But if your elderly loved one is no longer able to cook, you may not have had that special recipe for a while.
It may be time to get out the cookbook. If you’re a family caregiver, retrieve that favorite recipe. Tell us in a short story what makes this dish so special. Then enter the Homemade Memories Recipe Contest – which runs from July 15 to September 15, 2011.
Selected recipes and stories will be published online as well as in the Homemade Memories Cookbook that will be available for purchase prior to the 2011 holiday season. Proceeds will go to the non-profit Home Instead Senior Care® Foundation to benefit North American seniors.
The contest is part of the Craving Companionship program, launched to help seniors stay connected socially and eat more nutritiously. Tips and practical advice promote geriatric health. Research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care network reveals that the biggest mealtime challenge for older people who live alone is lack of the shared family experience including companionship.*
Maybe it’s traditional “comfort food” like meatloaf. Or perhaps it’s an ethnic dish that has been passed down through the generations. Whatever the recipe, share it with your senior and others today, and do your part to bring back good nutrition for your elderly loved one.
*The Home Instead Senior Care network completed 600 telephone interviews with seniors age 75 and older in the U.S. and 400 in Canada, excluding Quebec, who live alone in their own homes or apartments. The U.S. sampling error is +/-4.0% at a 95% confidence level. The Canadian sampling error is +/-4.9% at a 95% confidence level.
