The production and service of meals to older 

individuals is, in reality, a food service business and 

must be operated as such. A food service business is 

a complex organization, and food service operations 

are often difficult for someone not trained or 

experienced in food services to understand.

BACKGROUND

Home-delivered and congregate nutrition 

programs for older individuals may be provided 

by an agency which offers multiple services 

to older individuals in addition to nutrition. 

Although the nutrition programs may be the 

major component of the services array, the 

agency’s focus has to be on the overall “big 

picture” of their operations. Thus, management 

of the nutrition programs may be just one area 

of a person’s administrative responsibilities, and 

this person may or may not have a background 

or experience in food service operations. There 

are many ways in which a food service business 

can fail to meet “customer” expectations 

or to generate sufficient revenue to sustain 

operations. Someone managing a meal program 

who does not have food service experience may 

not recognize problems occurring within the 

program until it is “too late,” leading to potential 

program failure. 

Food quality should be emphasized in today’s 

senior nutrition programs. As the baby boomers 

age and become participants in congregate and 

home-delivered nutrition programs, participant 

quality standards will change. Nutrition programs 

need to consider the price/value relationship 

between the price that they pay for raw foods 

or meals and the quality (value) of the food or 

meal they are receiving. Programs can no longer 

purchase items because they are “cheap” or 

seem like a “bargain.” Both product quality and 

the yield from the purchased product need 

to be considered in order to attract program 

participants and meet the competition that is 

entering the market to provide meals for older 

individuals.

A FOOD SERVICE SYSTEM

A food service business is a system comprised 

of multiple integrated components. These 

components represent a flow of product 

from procurement to service to the program 

participant. For a food service to be 

successful, attention must be given to the 

activities incorporated into each of the system 

components.

Procurement

Successful product procurement, or purchasing, 

means having a purchasing process in place 

that leads to the program having the right quality 

of the right product being received at the right 

place at the right time. Purchasing the right 

quality product for the purpose for which it is to 

be used is essential for a meal program to be 

successful. To maintain product quality, purchase 

specifications are needed for all products.

 Specification: A concise description of 

the quality, size, weight, count, and other 

quality factors desired for a particular item.

The purchasing process entails having someone 

designated as the “purchasing agent” who 

is the only one authorized to place purchase 

orders for needed products. After an inventory 

of on-hand items is taken, a written purchase 

order is prepared which the purchasing agent 

communicates to the selected supplier or 

suppliers. Once the order is placed with the 

appropriate supplier, a copy of each purchase 

order is provided to the person (.for example, 

storeroom clerk, kitchen supervisor) who will be 

receiving the products. 

 Purchase Order (PO): A request that the 

supplier deliver what you want, ideally at 

the time you want it, at an agreed-upon As 

Purchased (AP) price and credit terms. A PO 

may include other conditions, such as 

minimum order amount, cost of delivery (if 

any), or discount options. 

The National

Resource Center on

Nutrition & Aging

1

Procurement, Receiving, Storage, Production, Serving & Transportation

Food Service Basics For Non-Food 

Service Program Managers And Staff

Extended Brief

Written by: Audrey C. McCool, EdD, RD, FADA. Commissioned by the NRCNA.
Receiving

Product receiving should be done only by a 

person designated to have that responsibility. 

This person must know about food/food 

products and be trained in proper receiving 

procedures for foods and supplies. Deliveries 

should be accepted only at times that will not 

interfere with the meal production and service 

operations. Suppliers should be made aware of 

the times that the program will receive deliveries 

and should be required to meet the program’s 

delivery time limits.

When products are delivered, the person 

responsible for receiving products should:

✓ Check all products against the purchase order

to be sure that the product being delivered

matches the quality specifications of the

product ordered.

✓ Check all frozen and refrigerated products

for product temperature and any evidence of

thawing and refreezing (frozen products).

Review local health codes for refrigerated

and frozen product delivery temperature

requirements.

✓ Check all products for broken boxes, leaky

packages, swollen or dented cans, signs of

pests, dry food that is wet or damp, frozen

food that thawed and refroze, and food that

has passed its expiration date. If a product is

found to be less than perfect do not accept it,

send back to supplier. Do not be intimidated

by the food provider, you are the customer.

✓ Check all products to be sure that the quantity

and pack of the products being delivered

matches what was requested on the purchase

order.

✓ Verify the products being received against

the invoice provided by the delivery driver. Any

discrepancies with the invoice should be

rectified prior to the driver leaving the program

site.

✓ Once products have been received and the

invoice verified, the products should be moved

into the appropriate storage areas as

quickly as possible to prevent product quality

deterioration and possible theft or other

product loss.

 Invoice: A bill from a supplier for goods or 

services, often presented as the goods are 

delivered or after the services are performed.

 Invoice Receiving: Common type of 

receiving procedure. Involves comparing the 

invoice with the order record (the PO) and 

then proceeding to check quality, quantity, 

and the AP prices of the items delivered.

Storage

An adequate amount of dry, refrigerated, and 

frozen storage is needed to maintain product 

quality and prevent product loss from spoilage or 

theft. The temperatures of the storage areas are 

important factors in maintaining product quality. 

Storage areas need to be equipped with noncorrosive metal racks with open-slotted shelves 

to facilitate air circulation. Products can be 

stored a minimum of four inches off the floor, 

and at least 18 inches below the ceiling (or below 

sprinkler heads) and not flush against the walls. 

Storage areas for dry stores need to be wellventilated. It is advisable to review local health 

codes for dry storage area requirements. 

Storage Area Temperatures

Dry Storage: 50 – 70 ̊F 

Refrigerated Storage: 32 – 40 ̊F 

Frozen Storage: 0 ̊F or below. 

Items should be dated when they are received 

and placed on storage shelves with the older 

product in front of the newer product to help 

ensure that products are properly rotated and 

the older products are used first. Overcrowding 

of shelves should be avoided so that product 

inventories are taken correctly. 

A system to control product issues from storage 

is needed for adequate inventory control. Ideally, 

one person should be responsible for issuing 

items with the issues being made on the basis 

of written requisitions. At a minimum, if storage 

areas are open to all employees, anyone taking 

an item from a storage area should record what 

is taken (item and quantity) at the time they take 

the items from storage. A computerized inventory 

management system is highly desirable for all 

nutrition programs. 

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Production

Planning for food product production should 

be done at least a day prior to the day the food 

is to be produced in the kitchen. The use of a 

food production worksheet is recommended for 

production planning. 

There should be space on the worksheet so 

that, after the product has been prepared and 

packaged or served, the kitchen staff can record 

the amount that was actually prepared, the 

number of portions served, the amount left over 

or short, and what was done with any left-overs.

Items to be used for the day’s food production 

should be issued from storage on the previous 

day. Items for each recipe should be grouped 

together, if possible, so that the kitchen staff’s 

time can be used efficiently without a lot of 

“hunting and searching” for items needed for 

the recipes they are preparing. It is particularly 

important to issue frozen items at least the day 

ahead so that there is time for the items to thaw 

in a refrigerator prior to their use.

A Food Production Worksheet Should Indicate:

✓ Each product to be prepared

✓ The amount of each product to prepare

✓ The recipe to be used

✓ The time the product is to be ready to package

or serve

✓ The person responsible for each product’s

preparation

Standardized recipes are needed for all menu 

items prepared in the production kitchen as they 

are needed to: 

✓ Maintain product consistency, including quality

consistency.

✓ Control the cost of prepared food items.

✓ Enable the required menu nutritional analysis

to be completed.

Standardized Recipe: A set of precise

procedures used to produce a food or

beverage menu item. The recipe includes such

things as a list of ingredients, the amount of

each ingredient by weight or volume,

preparation methods, yield, and portion size.

Once items are prepared, they must be held 

at an appropriate temperature until needed for 

packaging or serving. Holding temperatures vary 

depending on the product and how it is to be 

used. It is important to remember, though, that 

holding times for foods held at hot temperatures 

should be minimized as much as possible as 

both the quality of the product and the nutritional 

value deteriorate when foods are held at high 

temperatures for long time periods.

Serving

Portion control is a critical factor when serving 

food or dishing food into meal trays for 

packaging. Portion control is enhanced when 

proper portioning tools, such as “spoodles,” “ice 

cream” scoops or ladles, are available for the 

staff to use when serving the meals. Measured 

serving utensils will ensure adequate serving 

sizes are served. Without good portion control, 

the meals served may or may not meet the 

nutritional requirements for meals for older 

individuals. When the nutritional requirements 

are not met, the meals may not qualify for cost 

reimbursement or payment to the program from 

the funding agency. 

Meal costs are also affected when portion control 

is not monitored carefully. When the portions 

served are larger than planned, meal costs 

increase, and it is possible to run out of the food 

item before everyone has been served or all 

the needed meals have been packaged. While 

serving portions that are too small may seem 

like a way to save on food costs, the participants 

will not receive all of the food that they need to 

meet their nutritional requirements, meal quality 

deteriorates, and the kitchen could end up with 

leftover product for which they have no use. 

Leftovers frequently become food waste which 

adds to meal costs without providing any food to 

anyone. 

If meals are to be packaged for home-delivered 

meals, the plating and packaging of the meals 

is best done on an automated packaging line. It 

is important to “match” the packaging materials 

used to the specification set by the manufacturer 

of the packaging line if problems such as poor 

sealing of the trays are to be avoided. Packaged 

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meals should be labeled with the name of the 

meal and the date the meal is packaged as part 

of the packaging process. The packaging date 

is particularly important to be sure participants 

are not served outdated meals, as well as to help 

monitor how long participants have kept meals 

in their refrigerators with the intention of eating 

them “later.”

Transportation

Whether food is to be transported in bulk 

(e.g., not portioned into individual meals) to 

congregate sites or as individual meals for homedelivered meal clients, the food must be packed 

into appropriate transport equipment. Generally, 

that equipment will be insulated containers 

of some type of which there are a number of 

options available on the market. However, the 

food might also be transported in various types 

of containers that will heat or chill the foods using 

the transport vehicles electrical system during 

the transportation time. 

Regardless of the transport equipment used, 

transport routes and times should ideally be 

kept as short as possible for the program. 

Although traditionally the delivery of hot meals 

to participants has been the “gold standard” of 

senior nutrition programs, today consideration 

should be given to the delivery of chilled or 

frozen meals to participants if they are capable 

of heating the meals in their homes or if the 

route time is excessive. Many foods in hot meals 

are significantly over-cooked by the time the 

meal reaches the client; thus, the food quality is 

poorer than it is in chilled or frozen meals that 

the participants heat themselves. The nutritional 

value of the meal also deteriorates as many 

nutrients, such as vitamin C, are heat sensitive 

and are lost from food that is held hot for the 

length of time required to package and deliver 

hot meals.

DEFINING FOOD SERVICE SYSTEMS

There are two key elements that define a food 

service system and set parameters on the 

structure of the system. These elements are the 

menu and the operating budget. 

The Menu

The menu is the “starting point” for defining 

a food service system. The food items on the 

menu determine the products that will need to 

be purchased, the product storage requirements, 

how the food production operations will be 

accomplished, how the food items will served 

or plated, and the transportation equipment 

that will be required. Menus for senior nutrition 

programs are becoming more complex as the 

demand for ethnic foods, menu variety, and 

modified diet requirements are increasing. Menu 

choice is already an important component of 

menu development for enhanced participant 

satisfaction with the meals. As the menus 

change, there will be a need for programs’ food 

service systems to make system modifications 

which will enable the system to produce and 

serve high quality meals which meet the revised 

menu structure. 

As the population changes, so must the menu 

options offered. Many nutrition programs are 

using offer versus. serve method of serving. 

This method permits participants to take only 

the menu components they are willing to 

consume. In the offer versus serve method, menu 

developers must monitor preferences (i.e., what 

is left on the serving line) and make changes to 

the menu to ensure all menu items are as well 

received as possible. For example, if every time 

green peas are served there is excess waste, 

then the menu developer should investigate 

why the peas are not consumed. Menu items not 

consumed are generally due to poor preparation, 

not culturally accepted or not the participant’s 

preference.

The Operating Budget

The operating budget is the primary tool for 

controlling the costs of a food service system’s 

operations. The operating budget sets cost 

standards for the system. For example, meeting 

the budget standards means that food products 

must be carefully evaluated for factors such as 

quality and yield relative to the price paid. It also 

means that food storage, inventory management, 

production, and service must be carefully 

controlled to avoid food waste and other food 

4
product losses, as well as excess labor usage, 

while still meeting the required quality and 

portion standards for the program’s meals. 

FOOD SAFETY AND SANITATION

The importance of maintaining high standards 

for food safety and sanitation cannot be overemphasized. Senior nutrition programs are 

preparing meals that are frequently served to a 

population that is at high risk for complications 

from foodborne illness. Many older individuals 

are immune, compromised or have an increased 

risk for illness and do not have the physical 

reserves to “bounce back” from an incidence of 

foodborne illness. 

Programs need to operate their food services in 

accord with the United States Food Code food 

safety and sanitation standards or in accord with 

their state standards when the state standards 

do not match with the Federal Food Code. 

One of the best ways to identify potential food 

safety problems within a food service system 

is to conduct a HACCP analysis and, from that 

analysis, develop a plan to maintain food safety 

throughout all of their food service operations. 

 Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point 

System (HACCP System): HACCP is a 

process used by food services to ensure food 

safety. The process identifies the areas at 

which foods are most susceptible to 

contamination and recommends procedures 

that can be used to prevent contamination 

from occurring.

Food holding times and the temperatures at 

which foods are held are especially of concern 

to senior nutrition programs because of the need 

to transport the food and the packaged meals 

from the kitchen to the program participants. 

Most foods prepared for senior nutrition 

programs fall into the potentially hazardous food 

category. These foods need to be kept out of 

the temperature danger zone of 41 ̊F to 135 ̊F 

as much as possible. (Note: Some states use 

a slightly different temperature range for their 

temperature danger zone; so, programs should 

check their local regulations.)

✓ Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS):

These are foods that require time-temperature

 control to prevent the growth of 

 microorganisms and the production of toxins. 

 These foods contain moisture and protein and 

 have neutral or slightly acidic ph.

Because of the difficulty of holding hot foods 

(hot meals) at an appropriate temperature, 

unless delivery routes are very short, programs 

are encouraged to consider providing chilled or 

frozen meals to their participants. It is easier to 

hold cold food within an acceptable temperature 

range, and the time period that cold foods can be 

in temperature danger zone (though below 70 ̊F) 

is longer than the safe time period for hot foods.

TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL 

REQUIREMENTS FOR HOLDING FOODS

✓ Potentially hazardous hot food must be held at

an internal temperature of 135 ̊F or higher.

✓ Hot food originally at 135 ̊F or higher can be

held at a lower temperature for a maximum

of FOUR hours. Food held in the temperature

danger zone for more than four hours must be

discarded.

✓ Potentially hazardous cold food must be held

at an internal temperature of 41 ̊F or lower.

✓ Cold food originally at 41 ̊F or below can be

held at a higher temperature for up to SIX

hours, provided that the food’s temperature

does not exceed 70 ̊F.

Cooling cooked foods that are, or are going to 

be, packaged into chilled or frozen meals must 

be carefully monitored. The cooling is a two 

stage process as indicated in the box below.

These foods must be cooled from 135 ̊F to 70 ̊F within 

TWO hours. Then, the foods must be cooled from 70 ̊F to 

41 ̊F or lower within the next FOUR hours.

When considering these cooling times, it must 

be remembered that foods for senior nutrition 

programs are being prepared and cooled in large 

quantities, quantities which are not easily cooled 

if the foods are just placed into a refrigerator in 

a large container of if multiple meals are stacked 

together with no opportunity for cold air flow 

around each of the meals. 

5
When deciding how best to cool potentially 

hazardous foods, keep in mind the following 

factors:

✓ The size or amount of food being cooled;

✓ The density of the food – a broth is less dense

than a casserole; and

✓ The container in which the food is being stored

– shallow pans cool foods faster than deep

pans.

In order to facilitate the rapid cooling of cooked 

foods, the following methods are recommended 

by the

Food Code:

✓ Placing the food to be cooled in shallow pans

✓ Separating the food to be cooled in smaller or

thinner portions

✓ Using rapid cooling equipment, such as “blast

chillers;”

✓ Stirring the food to be cooled in a container

placed in an ice bath;

✓ Using containers that facilitate the transfer of

heat;

✓ Adding ice as an ingredient to the cooked

food; or

✓ A combination of the above methods.

For more information about operating a food 

establishment, contact your local health 

department.

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

Food services are complex systems comprised of 

multiple components that must be well integrated 

if the food service is to be a success. Failure to 

recognize that senior nutrition programs are food 

service businesses is likely to lead to program 

inefficiencies, poor use of resources – including 

available revenue – and may lead to potential 

program failure.

It should be remembered that food that is 

improperly handled at some point within the 

system has the potential to cause foodborne 

illness among program participants. Such a 

situation can be catastrophic for the program in 

terms of legal liability. Further, a foodborne illness 

situation can ruin a program’s reputation within 

the community as the program participants and 

their caregivers lose confidence in the safety of 

the food provided by the program. 

Today, for-profit businesses are entering the 

market of providing meals for older individuals. 

As these for-profit businesses generally provide 

only a meal to their “customer” (the program 

participant) via a delivery service and are not 

concerned about providing the “human contact” 

that is an integral part of the traditional homedelivered and congregate nutrition programs, 

they can often price their meals lower than most 

programs’ cost. Although their meals may be 

lower in cost, there is no direct contact with their 

“customer;” thus, there is no check on the wellbeing of the older individual who is receiving 

those meals. Working with the local community 

to help them understand the importance of the 

price/value relationship for the meals provided to 

the community’s older individuals is a key factor 

for a program’s success. Value incorporates both 

the personal contact with the participant and the 

quality of the meal. It is not always the cheapest 

meal that is the best. Rather it is the meal that 

offers the best value for the price. 

Still, these for-profit firms are now significant 

competition to the traditional programs, 

making it even more important than ever that 

the program is operated as an efficient, costeffective food service business that will be 

competitive in the marketplace. Managers and 

staff with management responsibilities relative to 

programs’ food service operations should take 

advantage of every opportunity to learn about 

the food service industry and the operation of a 

food service business.

REFERENCES

Foodservice Director. CSP Business Media, L.L.C. 1 Tower Lane, Suite 2000, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181. 

Phone: 630-574-5075. Retrieved from: http://www.foodservicedirector.com.

Gregoire, M. P. Food Service Organizations: A Managerial and Systems Approach (8th edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: 

Prentice Hall, 2013.

National Restaurant Association. ServSafe. Retrieved from: http://www.servsafe.com/home.

United States Food and Drug Administration. Food Code 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/

RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/ucm374275.htm. 6