Mission-Driven Foodservices Get To the Heart of the Matter
Galley Solutions’s passion for supporting community foodservice organizations was never more obvious than in early 2020, at the outset of the Coronavirus pandemic, when we partnered with O’side Kitchen Collaborative (OKC), in Oceanside, CA. It was then and there that we helped launch an emergency response operation to deliver ready-to-eat meals to isolating elderly and other food-insecure individuals. OKC is part of One Kitchen Collaborative, whose mission is to “create solutions to reduce food waste while addressing food insecurity in our community through our catering, food production and education programs.”
We sought to help the group by providing OKC with the culinary resource planning (CRP) capabilities usually used by much larger operations–CRP is a system that uses technology to help food service businesses increase efficiency and scale. Together, we kept the back-end operation running smoothly and while hundreds of meals per day were delivered.
Community foodservice organizations such as OKC, Meals on Wheels, Open Arms, Feeding America, and many others are doing necessary and unsung work by providing food to the people who need it most. Galley’s CRP Platform is ideal for such organizations. It addresses their unique service models and challenges by ensuring nutritional accuracy for medically tailored meals while streamlining day-to-day kitchen workflows for maximum efficiency.
Support Health and Healing
For many served by these organizations, food is quite literally medicine. Organizations such as Open Arms of Minnesota provide meals for individuals with life-threatening illnesses. It is, therefore, imperative that they adhere to exacting nutritional standards. These meals are about much more than just quality and taste–they must also provide the precise nutrient profiles that support health and healing.
"As we go deeper into food as medicine, it's important for us to get it all right," says Stanley Hadiwibowo, Director of Foodservice at Open Arms. "And, to do that, we have to have standardized recipes, ingredients, and menus."
Lucy LaVoy, a Registered Dietitian and Menu Specialist at Open Arms, explains how the CRP concept Galley has created supports the nutritional accuracy so important in their work: "Galley breaks down every single ingredient in a recipe. For example, if a meal's really high in sodium, I can go in and see exactly which ingredients are contributing to that and work with my chefs to substitute in something else that meets our nutrition guidelines."
Also Read: A Nutritionist's Guide to The Culinary Operating System
This level of precision requires meticulous planning, from recipe development to ingredient sourcing. It's a balancing act between meeting nutritional needs and accommodating dietary restrictions while still creating meals that are appetizing and comforting.
Data Transparency is Key
Many of these organizations rely heavily on government grants and subsidies, which come with rigid reporting and auditing requirements. The data transparency demands are difficult to adhere to and the consequences for getting them wrong can be disastrous.
“Title III is one of our biggest funders, supplying the money to feed older populations,” says Hadiwibowo. “They require quarterly nutrition analysis reports for us to remain eligible. And we have to meet certain nutrition criteria for those clients who are receiving those meals. It’s all very precise.”
Failure to meet these reporting requirements doesn't just mean paperwork headaches—it could mean the loss of crucial funding that allows these organizations to continue their work. “That’s one thing Galley’s been tremendously helpful with–accurate nutrition analysis,” Hadiwibowo explains. “I can now easily pull from the platform the nutrition of any recipe or menu that we need for those certification reports.”
Also Read: Webinar Takeaways: Food As Medicine — Leveraging Tech to Deliver Healthy Choices
As the Galley CRP platform continues to evolve, one thing will not change: Our enthusiasm for supporting these critical pillar organizations. We're proud to play a role in their important work.
Click here to learn more about how Galley partners with Meals on Wheels America to provide purpose-built software to community foodservice operators across the nation.
