Executive Summary

Healthful Hearts is a Non-Profit company founded on the basis of providing

quality care to residents in a long term care facility, and funding this through the
successful management of their Food Service Operation. We strive to provide safe,
nutritional, appetizing and affordable meal options to every resident as well as a
variety of potential customers associated with the facility.
We will provide the best quality care for residents using our extensive
experience in Food Service Management. By sharing our knowledge, we will create a
team of highly skilled staff that will be our primary mode of increasing satisfaction.
Our team will be trained to meet the needs of your residents, guests, and potential
customers. Through employee empowerment and a range of benefits, we will
support employee job satisfaction. Utilization of our prime vendors and skilled
cooking techniques will allow us to provide a variety of food products to appeal to
all consumers in your establishment.
By combining our skilled staff with a quality menu exclusive of the need for a
large profit, we are able to provide your facility with the most cost effective way to
increased resident satisfaction, employee retention, and customer participation.
Through our success in surpassing customer expectations, we will be able to return
more income through catering and guest meals back into your facility.

Business Description and Vision

Our Vision:
To become the number one LTC Facility Manager in Virginia within the next 10 years,
by providing premier quality and affordable services to long-term-care facilities.

Our Mission:
To successfully manage multiple long term care facilities, providing the best service
possible within a reasonable budget by enhancing meal nutrition, educating and
empowering staff, providing a variety of desirable meal options to all possible
audiences, and in doing so increasing the overall quality of care and satisfaction
available to residents in LTC Facilities.

Goals established in our Business Plan

1. Improve Resident Satisfaction to 87% within the first year and to 93% within
the second year
2. Educate, inspire, and empower our employees to provide the best service
individually directed towards each resident and customer and in doing so
3. Increase our employee retention rate to 85% within the first two years
4. Increase employee meal participation and especially guest meal purchases
5. Provide a stimulating and positive environment for our entire customer base
6. Increase our catering events through our customer flexibility and range of
options

Initial management of your operation will be very intensive. We will observe
and critique the day-to-day functioning of the foodservice operation, and improve
every aspect that we can. To start, we plan to create all of our employee positions
described later either through promotion or replacement. Extensive training will
then be given to all employees so that everyone recognizes our goals and new
procedures. The LTC Facility will provide initial funding for employee recruitment
and training; it is imperative to our entire plan. A zero-based budget using only
previous employee pay rates is used to start our budget. A HACCP plan, new menus,
and facility improvements will all be part of our initial changes. As we work through
these steps, we will include our new managers in appropriate processes to speed up
the learning process, establish rapport, and also to provide detailed reasoning
behind procedures. We believe all of our goals cannot be met without a skilled and
passionate staff, so training will be a non-stop process.
After the facility improvements have been successfully implemented, we plan
to increase the accountabilities of our managers, to the point where they have the
full responsibilities of their job titles described later on. At this point we will no
longer be on site full time, but will have frequent communication with the
Administrative Manger to ensure proper operation and goal achievement, as well as
regular visits (monthly at minimum).


Healthful Hearts Products and Services

What We Offer:

We come prepared with the knowledge and experience that is required in a LTC
facility. Both Ms. Englund and Ms. Pryatel are Registered Dietitians, each with an
extensive background in the foodservice industry and now 5 years in the LTC facility
field. Motivating and working with current staff in businesses is one of our strongest
aspects, and serves as our prime mode for accomplishing goals. Through various
other facilities we have managed, we have worked with and acquired the following
services and relationships.

Established contracts and relationships with two prime vendors; Sysco and
U.S. Foods
Relationship with a local vendor, Idyllwood Farms
Our own menu bases that can be easily implemented and adjusted
Extensive knowledge and licensure to Vision Food Service Management
Software
POS system use and licensure
Extensive knowledge and background in food safety procedures (both CEOs
are ServSafe certified)


Experiences in past facilities have taught us that a structured yet flexible structure is
easiest for both employees and managers.

Our facility will operate under the general guidelines for day-to-day operations:

Weekly and monthly goals will be posted for specific jobs for employees

Menus will be available to our cooks and head chef in advance. They will be
able to prepare most dishes the day before, and then cook them the day of
the meal to make meals run smoothly

Servers will have meetings before every meal to go over the menu, identify
areas of improvement and goals, and to answer any questions

A manager will always be on staff during normal operating hours, managers
will rotate weekend shifts



Our Target Markets

Our primary goal is to meet the needs of our residents. Such a high risk,
captive audience needs strict quality and safety standards, with great variability in
meals. Meals from the facility need to be nutritionally adequate as they are most
likely the main food source for residents. Residents may also have varying needs for
assistance with feeding, and alternative meal times. All of these needs must be met,
but also at an affordable price.
Secondly, we aim to meet the needs of both our employees and the
employees of the entire organization. Employees from the entire facility will be
looking for variety, ease and speed in purchasing, as well as a cost effective meal.
Our own employees may expect to have an advantage over employees from other
departments, and this expectation will be addressed.
Lastly, our guests will need to be marketed towards. They include both
guests dining in the facility, and for our purposes also customers interested in our
catering facility. Guests purchasing meals in the facility will demand an option to
dine with residents; generally their sole reason for being at the facility. Expectations
of restaurant quality food and service will be met. Guests will also want on the go
meals, either a snack or a quick meal with a drink. While most guests will be adults,
a children population requires meals directed towards their tastes.
Our catering guests will demand a quality meal with exceptional service.
Flexibility in service and meals are one of the primary needs of this customer basis.
Competitive prices, capacity, and a pleasing environment round out the needs for
individuals interested in catered events.


Products and Services

Residents:
We will offer a range of products and services to our aging population.

Our 5-week semi-select menu will provide our residents with a great variety
in food on a day-to-day basis. Our menu meets the requirements for being
considered carbohydrate controlled, allowing residents with these dietary
requirements to not have to adjust to a separate menu. This also makes a significant
difference for our staff, as all meals can be prepared the same whether a resident is
on a carb-controlled diet or not. A daily food cost of eight dollars a day for each
resident ensures that we can provide affordable, yet quality food for all of our
residents.
By providing specialty meals at least once a month, we will give residents an
out of the ordinary dining experience. It also serves as a creative outlet for our Chef
and Cooks who will collaborate on the menu planning for the meal.
All employees will be trained with meal assistance, assuring that every
resident is able to eat comfortably. We will offer large grip utensils, curved plates,
thickened drinks, pureed meals and meal replacement shakes. If the need for softer
foods is strong and residents respond well to the idea, we will also provide molded
foods that correspond as closely with our regular menu as closely as possible.
Room Service will also be available for those who do not want to come to set
meal times. Dining Services will collaborate with the Nursing Department for
resident meal ordering and delivery. This specialty service will greatly appeal to our
audience, as appetite, fatigue, and schedules are extremely variable for most of our
population.


Employees:
Employees from the facility may purchase a meal from the menu or a
cafeteria item for 50% of the standard price. This will be a great benefit to
employees to have such an affordable meal available, and we also believe that this
will reduce our wastes on days that resident meal participation is not high. We will
offer a fast and easy POS system that can debit meals from the employees
paychecks. Dining center employees will enjoy any food leftover from a meal for
free. This is a great perk for our own employees and helps reduce waste from our
meals.
We will also hold paid one-hour employee meetings once a month to
encourage feedback from our workforce. This will allow us to address any problems
encountered by employees and also increases their own feeling of contribution and
satisfaction. These meetings will also be utilized as time to address any upcoming
changes in procedures or equipment. An employee of the month will be named
every meeting to reward those who have shown exemplary performance.
Employees of the month, as well as those with quarterly perfect attendance will
receive a small bonus in the form of paid vacation hours. We feel that the costs of
these benefits will be made up in our employee retention rates, and our
competitiveness as a company to attract desirable employees.

Guests:
Guests will enjoy the option to dine with the residents and order off of our
standard menu, or from the cafeteria menu. Our cafeteria menu provides on the go
options, and allows for meals and snacks to be purchased outside of standard meal
times. We also offer a fun childrens menu so that residents can welcome guests of
any age. Meals are priced to be affordable, and we hope that this will increase
purchasing as our customer base becomes accustomed to our varied options.
Our potential catering customers will have very flexible options. Our skilled
head chef will be in charge of meeting their meal needs, and will be able to provide a
quality-catered meal to any budget. Our prime vendors provide a range of food
products and catering menus to potential customers. This will offer our chef and
cooks with the opportunity to enjoy working with a fun, higher scale menu to add
diversity to their jobs while building their culinary skills. Potential customers will be
able to set up appointments with our Production Manger or our Head Chef to do
extensive menu development, pricing, and option planning for their event at least
one month in advance of the event. We intend to increase our catering events
through advertising around the facility, but through mainly word of mouth because
of our extreme customer focus.


Assurance of Satisfaction:

We will take an all-inclusive approach to our continuous improvement
process. Feedback from employees, customers, and especially residents will be
encouraged and received as quickly and efficiently as possible. Employees will
always be reminded to share their valuable opinions, and also to act as a second
mode of feedback from all customers. They may do so through our regular meetings,
anonymous feedback boxes or by communicating with their/fellow manager(s).
As mentioned, we will provide anonymous drop boxes where employees,
residents, and guests can submit their opinions or suggestions for better service.
Customer satisfaction cards are provided at every dining table and around the
dining facility, and it is the responsibility of the Dining Services Manager to
announce concerns in meetings. These cards will also serve as our measurements
for resident satisfaction goals. Additionally it will be their responsibility to
personally address individual resident concerns, or refer them to the appropriate
recourse. Catering customers will also receive their own customer satisfaction card
that can even include a discount on future catering events.
Meetings will be held by the Food Service Manager once a month solely to
have an input from the residents. Discussion of meals, service and other suggestions
will be welcomed from the residents, and part of our duty as an organization is to
meet these requests as best we can.

Menu

Our menu will put nutrition and safety for our residents foremost, while still
providing excellent taste. We have eliminated deep-frying as a cooking method for
all of our menu items, and have increased the amount of available fruits and
vegetables. Menus comply with all VDH regulations by offering three regular meals a
day as well as optional snacks that are always available. Our 5-week semi-select
menu offers a great variety to all potential consumers, and also includes alternative
entres for both lunch and dinner. All standard menu items are analyzed and
approved by a Dietitian before introduction to ensure nutritional quality.
A sample 1-week menu and nutritional analysis have been provided. Sodium
levels may be inflated on some of the items due to limitations in the software,
however our own recipes and food specifications will never be allowed to reach
these quantities. Additionally, some nutrient values may be low again, due to
software limitations. We will educate and implement cooking methods (i.e. cooking
with cast-iron skillets to increase iron content in foods) aimed at nutrient
preservation and even enhancement for all of our menu items to make sure that
RDAs for all nutrients are met.


Our menu analysis also does not include snacks, beverages, or desserts, as
there are many different options that have varying effects on the results of our
analysis. Desserts will be allowed for residents after the approval from the RD. We
will offer sugar-free desserts to meet the needs of those on carbohydrate-controlled
diets, as well as regular desserts.
We will also offer a cafeteria menu that is mostly static, and will include
seasonal menu items as well as local options. It will offer standard meals that guests
and employees may rely on, that also offer customization for some items. Residents
may have the option to order off of the cafeteria menu at the discretion of the
Dietitian. In our facility and the cafeteria we will have Pepsi products available for
purchase in addition to our regular beverages. Sodas and energy drinks are not
allowed in vending machines; only juices and naturally flavored beverages are
available.
Recipes are kept as simple as possible, and try to keep our promise to quality
using products with as little preservatives and artificial additives as possible. Ms.
Englunds previous work with Idyllwood Farms has allowed for a great relationship
from a foodservice standpoint. As contractors, we have been able to substitute many
items normally purchased from our prime vendors with local seasonal foods, at a
comparable price to our prime vendors. In the past, items prepared with local foods
have significantly increased meal purchasing from guests, and we intend to use this
as another promotional tool.




Organization and Management

Chief Executive Officers:
Healthful Hearts is organized with Ms. Pryatel and Ms. Englund functioning as co-
CEOs. Our main responsibility is the establishment and implementation of new
procedures for the facility. We are responsible for creating the operating budget,
and have attached our plan for budgeting of this facility. Oversight and direction of
the establishment involve continuous improvement processes involving both CEOs.

Managers:

Administrative Manager (AM)- our administrative manager is our right hand
man. He or she will be in direct contact with both CEOs and provide constant
feedback on the status of the operation. The Administrative Manager will also act as
a day-to-day liaison between the LTC Facility and Healthful Hearts, ensuring that
goals for both operations are met. The AM will also represent the food service
division in company meetings. The manager will be responsible for complying with
the budget, striving to meet or hopefully exceed our budgetary goals, and
establishing new guidelines as our operation expands. He/she will drive customer
satisfaction and improvement in conjunction with other facility managers.
Additionally, continual improvement of the HACCP plan in collaboration with the
Head Chef will be required.

Production Manager- the production manager will be responsible for placing
orders as well as forecasting. Extensive knowledge and use of Vision Food Service
Management Software will be required for forecasting, but proper discretion must
also be used. Addition and promotion of local foods in menus will also be a primary
duty. Lastly, planning and promotion of the catering events will be accomplished
along with the Head Chef.

Registered Dietitian- the dietitians main focus will be ensuring that the residents
nutritional requirements are met. This will include individual diet approval and
modifications, menu analysis/approval, and direction of a Diet Technician. The RD
must collaborate heavily with the head chef to successfully produce and approve a
variety of safe, quality meals.

Head Chef- the head chef is responsible for the oversight of all food preparation.
This includes ensuring food safety, meeting nutritional standards, menu
development, cook training, and catering oversight. We will depend on the Chefs
skills to improve taste quality in all of our food items, and ensure that cooks meet
these standards. The chef will also be responsible for scheduling of all cooks.
Creating and planning specialty meals will also be a responsibility of the Chef,
collaboration between all cooks will be encouraged.

Dining Services Manager- oversight of servers/general mealtime setup and clean
up. Scheduling and training of the servers are his or her primary responsibilities.
Addressing of general resident concerns is also an obligation of this manager.


General Team

Cooks- food preparation, monitoring, and portioning of all meals in accordance to
managers directions and within compliance with health standards.

Servers- responsible for dining room set up and clean up, taking orders from
residents and guests, and meeting individual needs of residents especially in meal
assistance. All servers will be trained on the POS system ensuring rotations for
cafeteria duties. Servers will also rotate dish room responsibilities evenly on a meal-
to-meal basis.

Diet Technician- a part-time position assisting the RD in all relevant duties. The
Diet Technician will also be in charge of volunteer recruitment from local colleges
for data entry and other time consuming but experientially valuable tasks.









Financial Management

With a zero-based budget, we have no option but to set all of our initial
financial goals ourselves. After initial start-up the A.M. will oversee adherence to our
budget and contact us with problems or suggestions. The operating budget can only
be officially changed with our approval, though we are always aiming to come in
below budget.
Preliminary start up costs will include employee training/hiring, equipment
upgrades, minor facility renovation, and minor dining room redecorating. The
facilities own budgeting department will cover these costs; they are crucial to our
plan for a successful food service operation. To clarify and quell concerns, we will
not request more than $50,000 for the first year, unless the facility approves it. All
costs discussed above are key investments. We have already addressed our need for
skilled employees and quality equipment; improving our aesthetic appeal will
increase resident and customer satisfaction, and greatly improve our attractiveness
as a catering facility.


Operating Budget:
Daily Resident Food Cost Allowance:
We will plan our budget around feeding our residents on eight dollars per
day. This will still be affordable for our customers and allow us to provide healthy,
high quality meals to our residents. We plan to subsidize this cost for the residents
by using profit from our catering and guest meals. Also included in this allowance is
our plan to provide specialty meals. We will budget for these more expensive meals
by providing some meals that are below the average daily resident food cost, and
also using a small profit from our catering and guest meals.

Food Cost Percentage Goal:
Our food cost percentage goal is 51%. This seemingly high cost is actually
quite reasonable given our financial parameters with the budget. Again, our quality
ingredients paired with skilled staff ensure a desirable meal.

Pricing Strategy:
Foodservice employees will be able to take any leftovers for free as long as
the meal is over. If they, or any other employees would like to purchase a meal, they
will pay 55% of the standard meal price. This will cover the food cost for the meal
and part of labor, but still provide a great benefit to current employees, ideally
serving as another attraction for a good workforce.
Meals are priced to be reasonable for customers, but still exceed our actual
expenses. If a guest would like to purchase a full meal off of the regular menu, it will
cost them nine dollars. This covers both the price to make that meal, and the food
cost (less than $6), while serving as a source of income for our operation. Items from
the cafeteria are priced individually, also with a 30% profit goal.

Catering events are quite variable in the cost depending on the customer, but
we intend to always turn at least a 30% profit on each event. We will have a flat
$150 cost for an event, and meal and labor pricing will be done on an individual
basis. Charity or small/brief events may be eligible for a reduced price, but we still
intend to have the same, if not higher, profit on short events. Budget calculations
were done with the following estimations of catering events
1.25 events/week
$150 flat fee for an event
Average of 10 guests and average plate cost of $13
We make a large profit off of meals by paying our employees the same hourly
wage but encouraging event holders to give tips and also due to the increased food
costs and subsequent increased profit.

We will allow some vendors to sell products in our facility. Initially only
Pepsi products that meet our requirements will be allowed, and we will work
towards incorporating more vendors that have products that match our requests.
Vending machines within the facility will be charged a monthly fee, and for selling
vendor products in our cafeteria we will negotiate a significant price reduction to
increase our profitability on the items.


Expected Labor Expenses:
We expect to spend approximately $2500 per day on our labor force. We
intend to use this as a large portion (approximately 49%) of our budget to ensure
that our residents are receiving the best service possible.

Other Expenses:
We specialize in improving workforce and quality of meals, consequently
increasing resident satisfaction and meal purchasing. We do not believe it is in the
best interest of either party to have overhead costs included in our budget. This
would stress a new source for income, instead of allowing us to establish ourselves
as a successful resident-focused company. Therefore, virtually all overhead costs
(maintenance, utilities, supplies, and repairs) will be covered by the facility.
Included in our training will be proper equipment use and general maintenance,
reducing the long-term costs of poorly kept machinery.
We will however budget a small allowance (less than 1% of our budget) for
continual training, uniforms, and employee rewards.

Revenues:
Our goals for this establishment are not to turn a significant profit. We intend
to grow our market and increase our sales with our lower costs. Catering and guest
meals will serve as our primary sources of profitability, and we have identified our
modes to greatly increase the popularity of both of these services. Our net profit in
our yearly budget is approximately $33,840. We aim to come in under budget, so
this figure will ideally be larger, and will turn around and go right back into
improving our operation. Ideally some of this money can be used in employee
bonuses, especially in the future when profit is expected to be higher, and general
improvements to the operation.
As a non-profit organization we will receive a fixed payment during the life of
our contract. We recognize that our success in these facilities will result in contracts
from other facilities searching for such a desirable and affordable contract manager.
By increasing the number of facilities we manage, we only benefit our customers
with increased price negotiation for products, superior services, and increased
knowledge acquired through our advancements.



Healthful Hearts envisions a bright future for your facility, and we are
confident that we could provide you with all the recourses necessary to have an
extremely well run facility. We hope that our goals, descriptions, and planning have
met your expectations. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any further
questions about our services or plan. Thank you for your time and consideration of
us as your contract manager.