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Greta HenslerFood and Nutrition Student at

Montana State University

Senior Capstone ExperienceHillcrest Senior Living Neighborhood:

A Division of Bozeman Deaconess Hospital

Summer 2013

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Greta HenslerMontana State University

Student in Dietetics1041 Advance DriveBozeman, MT 59718

406-450-1654

5/20/2013

Ann,

As you know, I am enrolled in the Dietetics program, at Montana State University. For my summer capstone experience, I will need to complete a minimum of 30 hours of work related to the Nutrition care process. I have decided to do my capstone at Hillcrest Senior Living Community, because I enjoy working with the residents here. I have three specific goals that I would like to achieve over the summer:

1. Educate the residents of Aspen Pointe about food and nutrition through presentations and food demonstrations.

2. Work with Chef Dean to provide more local foods in the dining rooms at Hillcrest Senior Living. I will also provide residents with information about the local products already available to them.

3. Provide nutrition information to residents so they can make informed decisions about the foods they eat at Hillcrest. Handouts, brochures, and other educational materials will be provided.

I appreciate the opportunity to work with you and Chef Dean this summer, and look forward to working with the nutrition services department and the residents in a new and exciting way.

Sincerely,

Greta Hensler

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406-450-1654

5/20/2013

Chef Dean,

As you know, I am enrolled in the Dietetics program, at Montana State University. For my summer capstone experience, I will need to complete a minimum of 30 hours of work related to the Nutrition care process. I have decided to do my capstone at Hillcrest Senior Living Community, because I enjoy working with the residents here. I have three specific goals that I would like to achieve over the summer:

1. Educate the residents of Aspen Pointe about food and nutrition through presentations and food demonstrations.

2. Work with you to provide more local foods in the dining rooms at Hillcrest Senior Living. I will also provide residents with information about the local products already available to them.


I appreciate the opportunity to work with you and Ann this summer, and look forward to working with the nutrition services department and the residents in a new and exciting way.

Sincerely,

Greta Hensler

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Learning Objectives:Assessment: It was determined that the target population of Hillcrest Senior Living residents wants more local foods to be served in their dining room.

Diagnosis: Lack of fresh, local foods consumed related to inadequate use of local sourcing as evidenced by residents’ desire for more local foods to be used on the menu.

1. Intervention: Work with Chef Dean to provide more local foods in the dining rooms at Hillcrest Senior Living. This will be done by contacting local food sources. Also provide residents with information about the local products available to them.

Monitoring: Continue to ensure that local foods are used by finding inexpensive, fresh sources. Also look into the possibility of using Montana wheat berries to grind into the bread flour used in the bread at the evening meals. Provide residents with information about the local products available to them.

Evaluation: Check back monthly to determine if local foods are still available to the residents, and if the residents feel that these local foods are meeting their needs.

2. Educate residents of Aspen Pointe about food and nutrition through presentations and food demonstrations. Practice my presentation skills through these outlets.


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Daily Journal:2 hrs. 3:00-4:00PM; 7:00-8:00PM Tuesday May 21st: Met with Ann, the activities coordinator at Hillcrest Senior Living Neighborhood and Chef Dean, the nutrition services manager to ask if project was feasible. Sent out letters of introduction to both Ann and Chef Dean.

Formulated survey to send to the residents. Decided upon 2 topics to give presentations on: “Antioxidants” and “The Blue Zones”.

2 hrs. 2:00-4:00PM Monday, May 27th: Put surveys in Aspen Pointe residents’ mailboxes (attached). I decided to focus on Aspen Pointe because I know more of them personally, and they have a great sound system and PowerPoint set-up in that wing of the building. There are approximately 100 Aspen Pointe residents. Started on presentation research. I have always been nervous when presenting, so I decided to make it a priority this summer to give presentations and demos, to get comfortable as a public speaker. It has definitely been my biggest weakness, and something I need to get better at before I start a career as a Registered Dietitian.

4 hrs. 7:00-11:00AM Sunday, June 9th: Reviewed surveys sent to the residents to determine areas of interest. I received 30 completed surveys.

22 of the 23 residents who filled out the “Are you interested in eating more local foods at Hillcrest?” question answered yes. This was almost everyone, so I decided to make this one of my top priorities. Coming into this project, I really did not know what to expect from the elderly population, so to realize that they were interested in going local was very surprising and exciting.

20 out of 25 residents who filled in the question “Would you be interested in nutritional analysis of certain menu items offered in the Hillcrest dining room (i.e. Calories, fat, sugar, protein, fiber, vitamins, etc)?” answered yes. The five people who answered “no” was enough for me to realize that putting analysis in the dining room may stress those residents out. I planned on providing general education materials that the residents could use if they wanted to, but not to openly share nutrition information in the dining room.

28 out of the 30 residents who responded to the question “Do you feel that your nutritional needs are being met?” answered yes. The two who answered no were concerned with the alarming amount of butter they noticed on the vegetables served, and the other was unhappy about the processed meats, such as bacon and sausage served at lunch.

The question “Are you interested in participating in cooking classes or food demos?” was worded poorly, Many residents were under the impression that they would have to do some cooking or talking in front of the other residents. My intention was to gather if they were interested in attending these demos, not necessarily participating. Many residents put a question mark on this question, or simply left it blank. I learned from this to word future surveys very carefully.

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I got a very vast array of foods or beverages the residents would like to learn more about during cooking demos and presentations. These foods were written down:

Butternut squashWineChinese FoodSoft DrinksBread (2 people)HerbsTex-Mex Tacos, enchiladas, or chili rellanosVegetarian DishesArtichokesMeat and fishChow Mein with Dry NoodlesSticky riceLocal and organicSummer salads

I was surprised with the creativity in these answers. The residents were already getting excited to see something new, or something from their memories. I decided to do a presentation of bread making, since there were 2 people who were interested (also because I’m a baker, so it would be easy for me to demonstrate). I also decided to incorporate some organic produce, herbs, and make a drink for them.

21 of the 29 residents answered the question “How important is nutrition to you?” with “Very important,” while the other 8 stated that nutrition is “somewhat important”. This told me that the residents are conscious about what they eat every day, and that they were at least going to be somewhat interested in my presentations.

The question “Is there any specific nutritional or culinary information you are interested in?” was answered with an equally vast array of answers:

CaloriesGrains—in breadNon-gas producing foodsLow sugar/red meatsCalcium-rich foodsWeight lossIs the chicken served at Hillcrest Sustainably raised?General nutritionMeats/fishCaregiver responsibilitiesAm I eating enough?Soft foods—I can’t chew!I want less processed meatsNo preservatives/less chemicals

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Blood sugar—prediabetic concernsLow-sodium options

I realized with many of these answers that the elderly population has many concerns that I did not consider when taking my lifecycle nutrition class, or even when working with them over the past 11 years. They do have lots of specific concerns, and unfortunately, Hillcrest is not associated with a Registered Dietitian. I decided I would like to provide them with general educational information on many of these topics, since I am unable to advise them personally at this time. It also made me realize that Hillcrest may need a Dietitian on staff, or available to them at the very least.

From these survey results, I determined three specific goals that I would like to achieve during this project.

Finished research and completed first 2 presentations (attached). Obtained informational brochures, pamphlets, and DVDs from the Mayo Clinic on relevant information to provide to residents if interested (attached).

3 hrs. 5:30-8:30PM Thursday, June 13th: Made food, and prepared sample cups of Northern Frontier purple cornbread with honey butter, trail mix (consisting of dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries, apricots, raisins, dark chocolate, walnuts, and toasted pecans), and roasted kale with olive oil and salt. Gave presentation on “Antioxidants” to the residents of Hillcrest.

About 35 residents came to my presentation, which was very exciting. Since the second seating of dinner is done a few minutes before my presentation at 7:45, I had many residents stay. It was a great turnout. I was so nervous beforehand, and started to give my typical shaky presentation. But about 5 minutes in, I realized I have known these residents for a long time, and they were only there to support me and learn more about nutrition. Having the microphone really helped me to get my voice across. My nervousness dissipated, and I was able to give a great presentation! This was my first ever presentation that was a success. I found it helpful to incorporate humorous points every once in a while, to keep the residents engaged, and to keep us all in a light mood. They were very interested in the topic, and many wanted a handout, because they wanted to remember what specific antioxidant was in eat color of fruit or vegetable. They appreciated that I color-coded my presentation.

The residents had several questions after my presentation. Many dealt directly with the topic, and many were off topic. One gentleman asked if there were any specific foods that worked negatively to oxidize the body. I said that bacon would work against the anti-oxidants, because it has nitrites in it, but that I recently had read an interview with a recent centurion. Her secret to longevity has been to eat a slice of bacon as part of her breakfast every day. I also should have emphasized the importance of whole foods, as opposed to processed foods.

One lady asked if sweet potatoes are a good estrogen replacement. This question threw me off, because I had not learned about this at college or during my personal research. Another outspoken resident informed the group that it was Mexican wild

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yams that contain an estrogen replacement, but we cannot find them in the United States grocery stores. After doing a little research after the presentation, I found that birth control manufacturers derive their pills from these wild yams, turning diosgenin into progesterone, which is then is manufactured into progestin, very similar to DHEA, known for normalizing hormone production for women over 30 (Schultheis, August 2013).

One 92-year-old resident asked, “I hate vegetables, am I doomed?” I told her there were several ways we can incorporate them into our diets, like putting zucchinis and carrots into muffins and breads. I also told her my husband never liked vegetables until I started roasting and grilling them for him. Now, they are his favorite thing. I told her I would suggest roasted vegetables to the sous Chef when she planned the weekly dinner menu. She did in fact put some roasted vegetables on the menu, and this resident later told me that she ate them. She never stated whether she liked them or not.

Many residents had never had tried kale in any form. At Hillcrest, we use it to garnish the salad bar. They loved it! They kept saying that it was so crispy. Many asked for a second sample cup, and they all talked about it for roughly 5-10 minutes. There were lots of questions as to how it was made, and what it was. One lady told me at my next presentation that she had made roasted kale in her apartment twice since my presentation, and that she and her husband loved it as a treat.

I was surprised at how many residents liked the purple cornbread, especially since it was more of a gray color after it baked. One resident thought it might be a good breakfast muffin with some blueberries in it, for added antioxidants.

Some residents took some extra trail mix back to their apartments with them, saying it was a great idea for breakfast.

Several residents came up to me after the presentation to tell me that they were very happy with me getting involved with nutrition, and proud of me for what I have done so far. They said they were looking forward to more. I have worked at Hillcrest for 6 years, and have made a good rapport with the residents and staff.

4 hrs. 12:00-4:00PM Sunday, June 23rd: Finished “The Blue Zones” presentation slides. Made 3 handouts: Notes for “Antioxidants” and “The Blue Zones” as well as “What Should I Eat?” general guidelines for healthy eating for older adults (attached).

1 hr. 1:00-2:00PM Wednesday, June 26th: Met with Chef Dean to give him resident feedback: a very high percentage who filled out the survey wanted more local foods served at Hillcrest. Brainstormed ideas, and he gave me a few local places to call, since he had not gotten a response from them in previous years. Also got the go-ahead on researching a grain mill so Hillcrest could incorporate freshly ground wheat into the breads served at the evening meal.

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3 hrs. 5:30-8:30PM Thursday, June 27th: Cooked edamame samples, and provided red wine and grape juice to residents attending. Set out educational materials from the Mayo Clinic. Gave presentation on “The Blue Zones” to the residents, and provided them with notes and handouts. 25 people attended. I also talked about serving sizes and My Plate guidelines.

The residents found this topic to be very interesting. They really enjoyed the handout so that they could follow along. When I reached the “plant slant” slide that talked about incorporating more plant-based proteins into the diet, there were many quizzical looks. This generation has definitely been brought up on meat at every meal.

One resident picked up on the fact that all 5 “Blue Zones” were located in coastal areas, and wondered how we can replicate that in Montana. I told her that although these areas are near the ocean, it is the waves and water that destresses a person. It all comes back to downshifting everyday, and doing something that will relax you, decrease your blood pressure, inflammation, and headaches.

One older gentleman asked if “pop was making kids fat these days?” I told him that the sugary drinks of any kind added calories to children’s diet that was in fact linked to childhood obesity. It was also coupled with the fact that they have so much screen time, and less active hours throughout the day.

Many residents had never tried soybeans in the pod, and they said it was a new treat. I was not nervous at all before or during the presentation, which came as a surprise to me that I already was so comfortable with public speaking.

After the presentation, I again had a large group that stayed to talk to me. One lady has had specific concerns about not being able to chew through meats and many vegetables. She has recently had to blend some of her foods at home, including meats, which she finds very unappetizing. She does get eggs in her diet, since they are easy to chew, but does not like beans as an alternate protein source. She enjoys when we have fish on the menu, because it is so easy to chew. I told the sous Chef, and she does make sure that fish is on the menu at least 3 times a week.

2 hrs. 8:00-10:00AM Friday, June 28th: Made phone calls, did online research of local farms and ranches that would have enough product to feed 180 people and be willing to deliver to Hillcrest. Set up account with and emailed Market Day Foods, a local Montana Wholesale supplier. Researched grain mills in local stores and online.

http://www.mykitchencenter.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=1194

3 hrs. 2:00-5:00PM Wednesday, July 10th. Ground hard red wheat berries and made bread loaves. Grocery shopped for food demonstration. Talked to Market Day Foods—they were excited to start working with us. They have local produce from several farms from around the valley, as well as meats, cheeses, pastas, legumes, and many other items. They deliver Tuesday and Friday, which are the delivery days for FSA already. Talked to Chef Dean—on board for ordering local foods from them! He was

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http://www.mykitchencenter.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=1194

also very interested in the grain mill, especially after I told him all the vitamins whole grains provide, as well as cost analysis, warrantee, and ease of cleaning it. He talked about possibly ordering it soon, and thanked me for helping him.

5 hrs. 12:00-5:00PM Prepared for food demonstration by laying out “mise en place” for making mango peach cocktails (with tequila), sliced and toasted bread for crustini. Made mascarpone topping with honey and cinnamon, and sliced peaches and strawberries for the fruit crustini. Made bruschetta with vine ripened tomatoes, basil, feta cheese, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Did cooking demo; 25 people attended. Ground grains using old-fashioned grinder. I got one of the cooks to volunteer to grind grains, and the residents cheered her on as she manually ground them. Talked about the benefits of whole grains versus white flour, and got a good conversation of retired homemakers who all made their own bread from whole grains. The elderly can teach us many things. They lived in a time where in order to make bread, they had to hand grind the flour, hand knead the dough. It took a lot of time and effort. In today’s world, it is rare to know many who make their own bread on a regular basis, and no one would even consider grinding their own flour. It is so much healthier, and I am hoping that we do get the grain mill. It would not only be bragging rights for Hillcrest to say we grind our own, but also provide the residents with very nutritious bread, the way it was originally intended.

My cart of ingredients was not organized, so I felt a little clumsy trying to find my ingredients when I needed them. I also think my demonstration table was a little too high for the residents to see what was going on. I did pass around several things, such as the wheat berries, freshly ground flour, basil. Today, I realized that I am not nervous at all about public speaking anymore, and I am actually starting to enjoy it! The residents loved both of my appetizers, and sounded excited that we might be investing in a grain mill to use when making the evening breads.

1 hr. 1:00-2:00PM Thursday August 1st Met with Chef Dean to discuss the local produce we have recently be ordering from Market Day Foods. He has been happy with the prices, and has sent back several items that were not up to standards, such as burnt or holey lettuce. The cooks and salad preparers have to wash the local produce much more thoroughly, and throw out quite a bit of the product. I hope all the cooks are on board with this project, because it is a bit more work to provide the residents with fresh local produce. When it comes from the large producers, they have already cut off and thrown away the bad parts, and have washed much of it. We have received a variety from local farmers around the Gallatin Valley. Sometimes, Market Day Foods has had to call Chef Dean to tell him something is out of stock or a bad product. This has been frustrating, because if it is on the menu for that week, he has to go get the product from another store at a higher price, wasting both time and money. We are still trying to adjust to this new change, but I’m so glad Chef Dean is willing to try this local produce out, especially since the residents

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requested it. We have also been ordering local meats and dairy for several years, but the residents have not been aware. Dean helped me create a list of local items that Hillcrest orders. I was happy to see that we have been getting several local items, and have added several more seasonal items this year.

I also talked with Chef Dean about the Grain Mill. He loved the idea, but thinks it would be wise to talk to the other bakers to see if they are on board. He has ordered a few kitchen gadgets in the past that have not been used, and would like to know if this mill would be a smart purchase. I scheduled a baker’s meeting for August 14th at 1:30, because we will all be in town and working that day for the weekly barbecue (several of the bakers also cook and make salads).

3 hrs. 8:00-11:00AM Saturday, August 3 Created Brochure from the local foods list Dean and I compiled (attached). Separated it out into produce; meats; grains, legumes and beans; bread and dairy. I also made a section about some of the farmers, and their stories. I wanted the residents to connect with the local producers. The residents were on board with going local, so I think they will be excited to see what Hillcrest has to offer. Their generation is used to having local produce, since bringing in fruits and vegetables from far away lands was not practical back then.

1 hr. 1:30-2:30 PM August 14 Held meeting with fellow bakers at Hillcrest Senior Living Community. Gave them the pros and cons about the grain mill: it is $239.99 with free shipping, and has a lifetime guarantee. It has two settings—one for fine flour, and one for courser meals such as cereal. It can make 20 cups of flour in one grind, and usually we use about 35 cups to make the dinner breads. It can grind wheat berries, as well as many other grains, so we can diversify the kinds of grains used in the freshly baked breads we provide at Hillcrest. It is a very quiet mill, and has a pull out drawer that makes it fast and easy to use. It also looks like it will be easy to clean, which is important when the bakers already have a busy schedule. I gave them the link to the 13-minute informational video about the grain mill that is the highest quality for the lowest price that I could find.

I told them about the reasons I was interested in buying this product: the residents would like to eat more local foods at Hillcrest, and Montana has plenty of farms that we could source wheat berries from. Freshly ground grains also provide many more nutrients than even the wheat flour found at the store, which has to be enriched with vitamins and minerals, because once the grain is cracked open, oxygen can destroy some of the nutrients within a few hours. Calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, thiamine, niacin, and riboflavin, are all found naturally in wheat berries, and if we can grind the berries just prior to incorporating them into the bread dough, the residents will receive a healthier product.

Some recipes may have to be adjusted, because there is a higher protein content in wheat berries. There are 6 different kinds of wheat in the US: hard red winter, hard red spring, soft red winter, durum, hard white, and soft white. Each one can be used in different applications, and we may need to add some additional wheat gluten to some bread recipes so we get a nice rise, resulting in a soft, fluffy bread versus a

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hard, dense bread.

I gave the bakers information, and the link to the product. We are going to meet again next week to get their feedback. We will all decide whether or not this grain mill will be beneficial to the residents, easy enough to use, and in the yearly budget.

½ hr. Thursday August 15 Printed out and folded brochures containing the local foods Hillcrest is able to offer for the residents. Provided these resources to those interested by placing them outside the dining room. Sent out thank you letters to both Ann and Chef Dean.

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Self-Evaluation and Summary of ExperienceOverall, this summer was a great opportunity for personal growth, as well as educating others. I feel that I have met all 3 goals that I set out to achieve.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with the chef to provide more local foods in the dining rooms of Hillcrest Senior Living. At the Montana Dietetic Conference in May, I sat in on a speaker who was providing the Kalispell schools with more local foods, and she really inspired me to take this concept and apply it to the senior living setting. I especially was surprised at how many residents were on board and excited for more local foods to be incorporated into their diets. They almost always asked me when I provided them with food samples if anything was local. The purple cornmeal that I used for the cornbread was local, and even though the cornbread was an interesting color, they were all excited to try it because it was grown here in Montana. They were interested in the story I told about meeting the farmer at a local vendors fair.

The survey the residents filled out helped me determine that the residents would like more local foods provided for them, and I knew Market Day Foods was not being utilized by Chef Dean. Market Day Foods has been on the whole a great supplier of local produce, and Chef Dean has thanked me on more than one occasion for setting that service up for him. This was probably the easiest thing for me to do for the entire project. I love that they get the entire Gallatin Valley farmers together on one convenient order form, they deliver, they provide outstanding service, and will reimburse your company if you are not satisfied with their product.

There have been a few adjustments Hillcrest has had to make to use more local foods, but overall, it has been a big success. One challenge we face is that we are now throwing away more produce. The leaves have often had bug holes or been sun burnt, thus unusable. It is time consuming to sort through the produce. We also must wash it more thoroughly, since the farmers don’t wash it before it arrives. The salad preparers have complained on more than one occasion that it takes much more time and effort on their part to prepare this produce.

I have heard several comments from residents that the lettuce has more flavor and is crisper than what was used previously. The residents were also very excited to see the brochure that I made for them about the local foods that Hillcrest is able to provide. Many have been asking their server which items on the menu are local. When faced with an option of two different vegetables, the residents have been more frequently been choosing the one that is labeled with “fresh, local.”

I educated the residents of Aspen Pointe about food and nutrition through my two presentations, and one food demonstration. Through this process, I became much more comfortable with public speaking, and have even come to enjoy it! The residents were a great audience. They were much more attentive than I thought they might be, and had very thoughtful questions and comments. I was also very surprised that they were willing to try the new foods that I prepared for them. The

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group that attended seemed very open minded, and genuinely interested in what I had to say.

Ann, the activities coordinator at Hillcrest, told me that if I would ever like to do more presentations in the future, that she would be more than willing to put me into the schedule. The residents were very excited to learn about nutrition, and I am planning to get a group of fellow interested Dietetic students to volunteer monthly to provide nutrition presentations for the residents of Hillcrest.

I provided a plethora of nutrition information to the residents. I gave them many resources from the Mayo Clinic, as well as provided them with handouts to match my presentations “Antioxidants” and “The Blue Zones.” I also made a general “Guidelines for Older Adults” handout. I tried to focus on the areas they were interested in, and was surprised by how many concerns the residents had about their diets, including pre-diabetic concerns, calcium, weight loss, not being able to chew, sustainable foods, etc. It was a challenge for me to see all these concerns and realize that there is no Dietician for them to turn to. I see a need that should be filled, and may look into creating a job for myself there when I have graduated and have obtained my Registered Dietitians License. They have a fitness coach, but are in need of a nutrition coach as well. After I saw these survey results, I decided to provide them with general education on carbohydrate counting and other concerns.

This experience was invaluable to my professional development. It not only helped me get over my fear of public speaking, but also challenged me in ways I never imagined. It made me realize that the elderly population is still concerned with nutrition. Just because they live in an Independent Living facility does not mean that they have given up. They are still productive members of society, with strong opinions, a positive outlook, and wonderful insights from their past and present. I am so impressed with their feedback, and am always excited to see them in the halls. They love to talk about nutrition with me. This has continued to build my good rapport with many of them.

I thought I would have been best prepared to do the food demonstration for the residents. I stumbled over this one, because I had not organized my cart appropriately. The residents did not seem to notice, though. The most difficult thing to do was to meet with my fellow bakers, because I was trying to convince them that buying the grain mill would be beneficial to the residents. My peers are still a group that is hard for me to talk to, but they were very receptive, and gave me honest feedback. I am glad Dean gave me the opportunity to educate them on this new prospective kitchen gadget, and it did help me get outside of my comfort zone.

I was the least prepared to answer questions from the residents after my presentations. They had many thought-provoking questions, and took me by surprise. I answered to the best of my ability, but there were some that I had not yet been educated about, such as wild Mexican yams being a hormone replacement.

Overall, the biggest hurdle I had to face was public speaking, and I really surprised myself by becoming more comfortable with it each time I got up in front of my audience. I now really enjoy it, and am grateful for any opportunity where I can help

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teach people a new idea or concept. I truly enjoy it when I have taught my audience something that is new and different.

After this capstone experience, my perception of being a dietitian has changed. Before, it was more conceptual, but after talking with the residents about their specific needs, I realize that being a dietitian will not be easy. There are so many different needs, likes, concerns, etc. from each person. It is very individualized, and each person has specific needs that must be catered to. Each diet plan must be tailored to meet these needs. The elderly population would be a challenging one, because although they are open to many new ideas, they have so many different aspects and obstacles to overcome in their daily lives. Their caloric intakes are much lower than a younger adult, but they need the same amount of micronutrients. They cannot taste, chew, digest, or absorb as well as they had when they were younger. Being a dietitian to this population would be a huge challenge, but also very rewarding.

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406-450-1654

8/14/2013

Ann,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to work at Hillcrest Senior Living Neighborhood to fulfill my summer capstone experience! This has been a wonderful way to benefit the residents in several ways. I am happy to say that all three of the goals I set were achieved.

I educated the residents about food and nutrition through presentations and food demonstrations. I also worked with Chef Dean to provide more local foods to the dining rooms at Hillcrest, as well as provided residents with information about the local products already available to them. I offered the residents nutrition information in the form of handouts, brochures, and several other forms of educational materials.

Overall, this experience was a great success and I couldn’t have done it without you! Thanks again for putting me into the presentation calendar, and for all your help printing things off. I also appreciate your efforts in trying to “hire” me, but am glad I was able to volunteer for you instead. You are a great activities coordinator, and made things run extremely smoothly for me this summer. You have truly helped make this project into a reality.

Sincerely,

Greta Hensler

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406-450-1654

8/15/2013

Chef Dean,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to work at Hillcrest Senior Living Neighborhood to fulfill my summer capstone experience! This has been a wonderful way to benefit the residents in several ways. I am happy to say that all three of the goals I set were achieved.

I educated the residents about food and nutrition through presentations and food demonstrations. I also worked with you to provide more local foods to the dining rooms at Hillcrest, as well as provided residents with information about the local products already available to them. I offered the residents nutrition information in the form of handouts, brochures, and several other forms of educational materials.

Overall, this experience was a great success and I couldn’t have done it without you! Thanks again for generously providing the food and beverages that I served to the residents, as well as giving me some ideas, input, and resources to complete my project. You have truly helped make this project into a reality.

Sincerely,

Greta Hensler

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