Maggie Beer – Improving Food in Aged Care through Education and Training program

Maggie Beer’s Big Mission – transforming mealtimes in residential aged-care.

Australian food icon, celebrity chef and author Maggie Beer has long been an advocate for improving older peoples’ nutrition and dining experiences.

The 2021 Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety determined that malnutrition and social isolation were contributors to the poor wellbeing of residents in aged-care, with residents often being provided with reheated meals they did not want to eat, which affected their emotional wellbeing and health.

In short, it was shown that some aged care residents simply were not getting the nutrition and meals that they needed.

In response in October 2022 the government’s inaugural budget set aside $5million over three years for the Maggie Beer Foundation to improve food and nutrition in residential aged care.

Additional measures, including a $13million Food Nutrition and Dining Advisory Support Unit, as well as a food hotline were implemented as a result of the Government recognising the need to lift the quality of food in residential aged care.

In 2024 Maggie fronted a television program, “Maggie Beer’s Big Mission” which documents the ambitious social experiment which successfully transformed meals and the dining experience at an aged-care home in Kingsley, Western Australia.

In a four-month immersion, Maggie Beer worked alongside staff and medical consultants to create new practices that improved mealtime for residents.

Over the course of the four-months, Maggie Beer and her team developed a new model of nutrition and eating, specifically for the aged-care sector, focusing on:-

1. Person-centred care.
2. Mealtime expertise.
3. Buffet style dining.
4. Meaningful activities.

Meals were designed to be more nutritious, tasty and visually appealing. By using seasonal and accessible fresh ingredients, a new high-protein menu was developed, delivered in a buffet-style offering, thus allowing residents variety and choice.

‘I want to make every mouthful count and ensure older people have purpose, dignity and choice.’
– Maggie Beer

By involving residents in mealtime roles like setting tables and restocking suppliers, the project fostered community among residents and staff. This led to a calmer and more social mealtime experience for residents.

Team Uniformity congratulates the enormous impact Maggie Beer has made in spearheading this inspiring project to improve the dignity and nutrition of older Australians in aged care.

The Maggie Beer Foundation, funded by the Australian Federal Government’s Department of Health and Aged Care, now delivers education and training to cooks and chefs in aged care including free training, in-house, activities in best practice: cooking techniques, workflow, and, managing menus.

To learn more about Maggie Beer’s mission, including recipes and industry resources at the Maggie Beer Foundation.