Malnutrition remains one of the most pressing issues in aged care today. One recent study found that 27% of aged-care residents are malnourished, and 59% are at risk.¹
Aged Care Quality Standard 6.2 focuses on nutrition, hydration, and individual needs, ensuring every resident receives appropriate, balanced, and enjoyable meals.² It’s a crucial move away from tick-box compliance towards truly meaningful care. If we look deeper into the strengthened aged care quality standards, Outcome 6.2.1.a raises a focus on two of the most essential nutrients for maintaining strength, mobility, and confidence: protein and calcium. They’re the body’s internal power sources, fuelling energy, recovery, and independence.
That’s why by strengthening our menus to feature more varied protein and calcium options, and by upskilling our chefs, Cater Care’s aged care teams help residents recharge, repair, and restore from the inside out, ensuring every meal supports stronger bones, better recovery, and a higher quality of life.
Nutrition isn’t just about meeting dietary requirements; it’s the fuel for strength, independence, and engagement, and protein is the body’s in-built repair mechanism. It’s the foundation of muscle maintenance, tissue healing, and immune strength. All crucial to keep aged care residents healthy and moving.
Yet studies of Australian aged care homes have found that most menus deliver only 0.8–0.9 g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, well below the recommended targets of closer to 1.0–1.2g per kilogram of body weight per day.³,4
This research also shows that providing 25–30g of protein per meal optimises muscle protein synthesis, meaning that consistent intake across meals is most effective in reducing frailty and maintaining independence.5
This matters because older adults naturally experience sarcopenia (age related muscle loss), which can accelerate without adequate dietary protein intake. When muscle mass declines, balance, mobility, and immunity decline too, leading to increased fall risk, illness, and hospitalisation.
That’s why at Cater Care we design protein-block-based menus to ensure every breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and dessert contributes towards each residents’ daily requirements and adequately rotates red meats and fish dishes. No matter how meals are swapped or customised, residents are always offered at least the minimum daily required amount of protein.
We’re built on bone strength, so calcium underpins our every move. Yet older adults face an amplified risk of osteoporosis, where bones become fragile and porous, in turn leading to an increased likelihood of falls and fractures.
The Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for calcium in adults aged 70 and above is 1,300mg per day.6 But, according to Healthy Bones Australia (2022), the average intake among older Australians is around 800mg per day, with only 10% of older women and 10–30% of older men meeting optimal targets from food alone.7
This gap carries serious implications. A major Australian trial found that increasing calcium intake to even just around 1,100mg per day, combined with higher protein consumption, significantly reduced fracture risk. This is proof that nutrition can directly improve health outcomes.8
Ensuring adequate calcium intake is one of the simplest and most effective ways Cater Care can support residents to stay mobile and independent. When calcium needs are met, confidence and health follows, increasing overall quality of life.
Of course, not every resident can consume traditional protein sources to achieve their daily nutrition requirements.
As Julie Cichero, Speech Pathologist and Co-Chair of IDDSI Global recently noted at this year’s Aged Care Summit Food & Hospitality Queensland, 50–60% of residents require texture-modified meals. When you add in residents with allergies, coeliac disease, or personal, cultural, and religious dietary restrictions, it’s clear to see that a one-size-fits-all approach just won’t work.
A well-known example is that milk allergies can’t be fixed with lactose-free milk alternatives as the allergy is an immune response to the proteins in milk, so even lactose-free dairy products are unsafe.9 These restrictions also alter nutritional profiles, meaning replacements must be planned with a dietitian’s oversight to ensure residents still meet overall dietary requirements, including protein and calcium.
This is why our teams work closely with dietitians, facility managers, and compliance managers to ensure each plate is safe, compliant, and nutritionally balanced, regardless of individual needs.
At Cater Care, every meal and preparation method is designed to maximise nutrient density, flavour, and bioavailability. After all, nutrients only matter if they can actually be absorbed.
Our on-site teams work closely with our in-house dieticians to ensure:
Our menus also include flexible snack options, ensuring residents can eat whenever it suits them, supporting both independence and consistent energy and food intake.
This collaboration ensures every site’s menu not only meets compliance but actively supports residents’ wellbeing outcomes, from improved hydration to reduced falls and better recovery times.
Read more about our work on this in our Aged Care Compliance Manager blog.)
Meeting the intent of Aged Care Quality Standard 6.2 means doing our part to help residents look, move, and feel stronger.
Serving food in aged care facilities has to go beyond compliance tick-boxes. With people’s lives involved, aged care catering is about delivering meaningful nutrition that supports independence, vitality, health, and joy.
Nutrition that supports vitality also builds family confidence and facility reputation. Families want to know their loved ones are not only cared for but truly thriving, with their health first and foremost. Here, the proof shows up on the plate.
With Cater Care as your partner, you can be confident that every meal is designed to fully nourish residents, balancing protein, calcium, food variety, taste, and individual needs on every plate.
(For more on this, read our work on Solving Catering Challenges in the New Aged Care Standards.)
Let’s turn nutrition into a strength for your facility. Contact Jonathan to discover how Cater Care can help you meet standards, delight residents, and power better living through food.
References
