"Poor food choice"

I was very disheartened to see the care centre my parent is a resident at serve party pies and sausage rolls for dinner.

My parent has never eaten a pie in their entire life and yet because that was their dinner, they 'shut their eyes and ate it'. Those were my parent's exact words. I believe my parent is not a person to make a fuss or feel they are being difficult, so instead of asking for an alternative meal, they ate the party pie and the cold potato wedges on their plate.

The next day I contacted the centre's staff member and let them know how disappointed I felt at the food choice they had made for the residents. Their response was that well at least it's not dog food. That comment, of course, was totally unexpected and inappropriate and obviously changed the tone of our conversation, which did not end well. They did say my parent could have asked for something else, but unfortunately, my parent did not speak up. The manager also mentioned that those foods had been requested by the residents themselves. That may be the case, but surely more appropriate to serve up as a late afternoon treat and not as a meal.

I feel that if the centre was that attentive to the residents' wishes, then they would also be presenting food that's not overcooked, deep-fried or sloppy. End result is that my family and I will be more attentive to the week's menu and make better alternative menu choices for our parent. As for the staff member's response to my concern, I felt they chose a very poor and unprofessional way to handle the matter.