Food as Medicine:
How Senior Living Dining Programs Are Becoming a Clinical Differentiator

For decades, dining in senior living has been treated as a hospitality function: something that keeps residents fed and families satisfied. That framing is changing. Incoming boomer residents and their families increasingly expect dining to do more: reflect personal nutrition needs, support chronic condition management, and be delivered with the speed and personalization of a restaurant. This webinar explores what it looks like when dining programs cross from hospitality into clinical territory, and why communities that make that shift are seeing real differences in resident outcomes, satisfaction scores, and competitive positioning.

What You'll Take Away

• How to recognize when a dining program is still operating as a hospitality function only, and what it looks like in practice to shift it toward a clinical differentiator
• Practical approaches for aligning dining with resident nutrition needs and chronic condition management without losing the restaurant-style experience families expect
• How leading operators are using dining as a lever for occupancy, satisfaction scores, and competitive positioning, and how to make that case internally
• Firsthand perspective from culinary and hospitality leaders at MorningStar, Agemark, and Ebenezer on where their dining programs are headed next

Who Should Attend

This session is built for the people responsible for dining and resident experience day to day: Dietary Directors, Food Service Managers, and Executive Directors at senior living communities. If you're weighing how to elevate your dining program, respond to rising family expectations, or make the case for new dining investments, this conversation will give you language and lessons to bring back to your team.

Speakers

Presenter

Moriah Bernhardt

VP of Life Enrichment, MorningStar Senior Living

With over 20 years in senior healthcare as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Art Therapist, Moriah specializes in holistic wellness, healthy aging, and innovative dementia engagement programs that foster dignity and connection.

Presenter

Daniel Spicer

VP of Hospitality, Agemark Senior Living

Daniel oversees culinary and life enrichment across Agemark's communities, having worked his way up from entry-level dining roles to senior hospitality leadership over more than a decade in the industry.

Presenter

Shawn Pierce

Regional Corporate Culinary Consultant, Ebenezer

Shawn brings more than two decades of culinary and hospitality experience, from restaurant kitchens to senior living dining leadership, to his work supporting communities across the Ebenezer portfolio.

Session Host

Sam Whetstone

Sr. Business Development Rep, eMenuCHOICE

Sam spends his days talking with dining leaders across senior living, from dining directors to VPs, about the issues and frustrations they're facing. He's hosting this session to keep things grounded in the realities of running dining day-to-day.