Senior Dining During Flu Season: The Role of Nutrition & Safe Dining Practices

By Leah Percal

January 30, 2025

Having the flu can be a miserable experience for anyone, but for older adults, it can also be extremely dangerous — even life-threatening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in the 2023-2024 flu season, up to 85% of influenza-related deaths were adults aged 65+.

Older people are certainly at an increased risk of complications from the flu as compared to younger adults. Additionally, the influenza virus evolves from one season to the next, which is why it’s critical for seniors to receive a flu vaccine each year. Flu season starts at the end of October but reaches its peak between December and January. A flu shot, especially an adjuvanted flu vaccine designed for older adults, is one of the keys to staying healthy.

The other key? A nutritious, immune-supporting diet.

That’s where you come in. The work you do in creating menus full of foods that can ease flu symptoms or even aid in prevention can increase your residents’ quality of life and improve their well-being. However, planning meals that meet immune support criteria while also maintaining impeccable hygiene standards and caring for sick residents can be overwhelming.

Here, we’ll look at how you can protect your residents with nutritious dining options and give your senior living community a shot at health with the right senior living software.

Thinking Outside the Influenza Vaccine: The Importance of Nutrition for Immunity During Flu Season

A healthy diet is always important, but during flu season, it’s an absolute must. The immune response in older adults decreases with age, which means they become more vulnerable to the virus and are at a higher risk for flu-related hospitalizations and even seasonal flu-related death. Flu shots should be the first course of action for most seniors, but even with vaccination, you’ll want to ensure residents have access to meals that support their immune health.

Foods to Include to Combat Seasonal Influenza

Nutrient-dense meals are necessary at this time of year, as they offer the vitamins and antioxidants that help the body fight off viral infections and provide a stronger immune response. Here are some examples of immune-boosting foods you can include in your menus:

Chicken soup and broth: Warm, comforting, and packed with antioxidants, chicken soup and chicken broth are also great choices for seniors who may have other dietary restrictions or trouble chewing or swallowing.
Citrus: Oranges, grapefruits, and other citrus fruits have high amounts of Vitamin C. Since Vitamin C isn’t stored in the body, it must be replenished consistently through diet.
Leafy greens: Spinach, kale, and other dark leafy greens contain significant immune-supporting nutrients like Vitamin C and Vitamin E.
Garlic: Often called a superfood, garlic can help prevent and treat many types of illnesses, including influenza. Raw is better, and it can even be steeped in tea.
Meat and fish: You might not want to overdo it on red meat, but lean meats and fish have a lot of protein, healthy fats, and zinc, which is proven to help our bodies fight off illness.
Nuts: Walnuts offer the greatest health benefit, but most nuts contain Vitamin E, which helps grow T-cells for greater immunity. They also contain healthy fatty acids, which are important for greater energy and overall health.
Yogurt: Yogurt with live and active cultures contains good bacteria that can balance gut health. For seniors dealing with the flu, this can provide some relief in case of any gastrointestinal discomfort.
Water and tea: Hydration is crucial, especially during flu season. Seniors should be consuming an adequate amount of water each day. Green tea has the benefit of being hydrating while also delivering a high dose of antioxidants for a healthy one-two punch.

Foods to Avoid to Prevent Worsening Flu Symptoms

While most foods don’t pose any dangers or health risks to people with the flu, there are foods that can exacerbate symptoms, making an already unpleasant time even worse. Here are foods to avoid:

Fried foods: Most fried foods contain a lot of fat and very little nutrition. They don’t contribute to immune health, and because they’re heavy and greasy, they can cause intestinal distress for seniors who are already ill.
Spicy foods: Some mild spices can be good for opening up congested sinuses, but foods that are too spicy can cause stomach issues and contribute to inflammation.
Caffeinated drinks: Coffee and soda contain caffeine, which can dehydrate the body, making flu symptoms worse.
Dry or crunchy foods: Crackers, dry toast, or crusty breads can irritate an already sore throat, posing swallowing challenges for many seniors.
Sugary foods: Sugar can contribute to inflammation, irritate your stomach, and weaken the immune system.
Dairy: Aside from yogurt, most dairy products should be avoided during the flu, as they can increase nausea and slow down digestion.

Meal Planning Strategies for High-Risk Seniors

The meals you plan during flu season should be packed with nutrients like those found in the foods listed above, especially for those with medical conditions who can develop serious complications. You’ll also want to ensure that you include a diverse range of foods so your residents don’t get bored or tired of the menu options available. Menu cycling is one way to offer an array of foods consistently and maintain variety.

To support the immune health of residents, you’ll want to ensure that all available meals contain items from each of the major food groups, especially those with large quantities of vitamins and antioxidants. While you may want to ease up on spices and intense flavorings at this time of year, you don’t want to serve bland or unappealing food. Focus on vibrant, fresh flavors like citrus, ginger, or garlic.

Finally, remember that your residents have many dietary needs and restrictions, which may be based on their culture, ethnicity, religion, health conditions, or medical needs. These will all need to be factored into the menus you provide. This is where having reliable and robust software like eMenuCHOICE can make an enormous difference — for both your residents and your staff.

Incorporating Resident Preferences

As mentioned, residents each have their own unique needs, tastes, and desires when it comes to food choices. Your community likely has a wide range of diets, including vegetarian, heart-healthy, low-carb, and many others, and it can be a juggling act to make sure everyone has options that work for them.

Senior dining software can make menu planning and management hassle-free, and platforms like eMenuCHOICE make it easier to gather feedback from residents. This helps you understand their food preferences and nutritional needs, so you can create meal plans that work well for everyone.

Managing Dining Safety During Flu Season

Food safety is of paramount importance all through the year, especially as you navigate your residents’ specialty diets and allergens. But during flu season, the safety measures you take can have a significant impact on the spread of the flu virus and the care and comfort you deliver.

Hygiene Practices

The flu virus is spread through contact, which can include hand-to-food contact. This means you need to ensure your food preparation staff is taking appropriate safety measures, like wearing gloves, cleansing equipment, and reporting any flu-like symptoms as soon as they begin. Your kitchens and meal prep facilities will also need extra deep cleaning this time of year, as germs can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours. Additionally, take a look at your hand-washing policies and ask staff to wash hands before handling food items, as well as any time they cough or sneeze.

Be wise and keep an eye out for new or worsening flu symptoms among staff and residents. Common flu symptoms and side effects include:

Fever
Muscle aches
Sneezing
Sore throat
Shortness of breath

Anyone exhibiting these symptoms should be sent home (if a staff member) or isolated in their living space (if a resident) to avoid any flu-related complications.

Meal Delivery and Service

Flu season is also a good time to take a look at your meal delivery policies and consider instituting a short-term no-fee delivery. This will encourage residents who have flu symptoms to stay in their own space and minimize potential outbreaks. It will also help ensure that sick residents get the nutritious meals they need when they need them while still being able to rest and recover.

The Role of eMenuCHOICE to Keep Your Community Healthy

Flu season can be a stressful time of year for senior living operators trying to keep their residents healthy. That’s why a senior dining solution like eMenuCHOICE for senior living is so imperative. Here are some of the benefits eMenuCHOICE offers at this time of year:

Flexible Menu Options

You can create menus with food options that meet each resident’s dietary needs and restrictions while also appealing to their personal taste. Customized and flexible menus keep residents excited to eat immune-supporting meals, while delivery options and easy meal selection make the process seamless. Preferences can be tracked within eMenuCHOICE’s software, and residents can make their own selections and choose room delivery when needed.

Nutritional Tracking and Reporting

Everything residents order and consume is tracked by eMenuCHOICE, so you can see if they’re getting the nutrients they require. You can also stay on top of allergies and specialty diets to ensure each resident's safety and well-being. By tracking and gathering data on what meals or food items residents are eating (or not eating), you can also reduce food waste, lower overhead costs, and ensure you’re providing residents with meal options they love.

Enhanced Communication and Coordination

It can be a challenge to manage meals for numerous residents with varying nutritional needs and restrictions, but the communication capabilities of eMenuCHOICE take away the headache and streamline the flow of information between the kitchen, serving, and nursing staff. This gives you more accuracy when residents order meals, and it also means it’s easier to isolate meals and deliver them to sick residents without risking cross-contamination. Only a POS system built for senior living can offer this level of efficiency and planning.

Basic Contact Tracing

When you have a flu outbreak, it’s vitally important to know who was dining with whom so you can track the illness and prevent further spread. With eMenuCHOICE, you’ll get essential contract tracing capabilities that can show you who was dining together and when. While this is meant only as a support to supplement other data, it is a valuable tool that can help keep your residents safer and healthier.

How to Get Started With eMenuCHOICE

The flu will continue to come around year after year, but this year — and in the years to come — you can be ready for it. Prepare your staff and your residents by implementing eMenuCHOICE and start planning healthy, immune-boosting menus while simultaneously managing meals, delivery, and staff communications. Set up a meeting to discuss your needs and how eMenuCHOICE can keep your residents healthy and happy during this flu season and beyond.