Cater with Care: Preventing and treating malnutrition in elderly

Cater with Care is a consortium in which food industry, knowledge and care organizations in the east of the Netherlands work together to prevent and treat malnutrition in the elderly population.

Treating malnutrition in elderly

The consortium's main target groups are hospitalized or institutionalized elderly, or those in an assisted-living facility. Nutritionists, sensory scientists, dieticians, doctors, product developers, packaging specialists, marketers, and logistics specialists collaborate in exploring ways to improve existing and to develop new tasty, high-quality food products and services. This unique collaboration results in tailor-made food products, unique services within and outside the care market, and new scientific knowledge through better understanding of the effects of treating malnutrition in the elderly population.

Cater with Care consortium

Partners in the consortium are Wageningen University and Research Centre, Gelderse Vallei Hospital, NIZO food research, Heinz, Sodexo, Veal Promotion Foundation (Van Drie Group), Pure4You, and Carezzo—all of which invest substantially in this project. The Cater with Care project was initiated by the Nutrition & Healthcare Alliance.

Cater with Care

Cater with Care aims to develop food products and services that combine the best of both worlds, tailored to the needs and wishes of the elderly population. The result is a total package of food products and additional services that offer malnourished people what they need as a patient, and what they want as a consumer. During the project, the partners will investigate the effect of these innovative foods on satiety and nutrient intake of elderly at risk of malnutrition.