We were fortunate enough to have Nutrition & Foodservice Management Student, Lauryn, interning with Team MealSuite through the winter of 2023. A passionate future leader, Lauryn spent her time with us learning more about the backend of our foodservice solutions she practiced with during her studies.

“Who doesn’t like food?!” Lauryn said when we asked her what initially attracted her to the industry. With a love for all things cooking, she completed a Culinary course before enrolling in her current program at Conestoga College. Lauryn explained that for her, a career in foodservice is the perfect link between good nutrition and good food.

As her internship with us came to an end, we sat down with Lauryn to discuss her thoughts on foodservice technology as an up-and-coming industry leader. Would she be more likely to choose an employer with technology systems in place? Can the support of technology make future Nutrition Managers like Lauryn more effective at their jobs? Watch the video and read on as we explore this and everything in between:

Lauryn’s impression of MealSuite’s all-in-one foodservice management technology: “It was mind-blowing"

Having used MealSuite’s technology to help with projects during her studies, Lauryn was interested in learning more about the ins and outs of the system. During her time interning with us, she said that the technology was “mind-blowing to me,” and had her thinking about the many benefits it can bring to her future teams:

Technology enhances the quality of the operation, she explained, "you can put the information (in) and it can be accurate for, let's say, the foodservice workers on the floor... It can be easy for them to check what kind of texture a resident (requires). And if it was on paper, it would be really hard because they will just be flipping all the time. But with technology, it’s just a touch and you have everything that you need.”

Click here to learn more about delivering personalized nutrition with ease with digital Resident Profiles.

Looking back on her Menu Planning project: “It was easy when I was using MealSuite”

During her time in school, Lauryn and a fellow student were tasked with making a three-day menu from scratch. For “two of us to make a three-day menu, (it) took us like a whole month!” when done by hand, she said.

“So, imagine if I was a Nutrition Manager in the future and I needed to make a whole menu for the whole summer and spring. I bet that would take me forever... But having something like MealSuite... It makes it efficient for you as a Nutrition Manager, and also for me as a student. It was easy when I was using MealSuite,” Lauryn explained.

Her entire class found related tasks like nutritional analysis so much easier with automation, adding that her professor would give them an “option of doing it manually or using technology – everyone chose technology!”

With technology, “I can focus more on my employees... and having a connection with the residents”

When we asked Lauryn: Would you be more likely to choose a future employer with technology systems in place? She said “probably, yes!”

Work in this industry “is already stressful enough because... you deal with a lot of people with different preferences. But when you have something like technology, it makes it easy for you because it cuts your work by almost half” she explained.

Saving precious time is important, she adds, because it would allow her “focus more on my employees... and having a connection with the residents... instead of always being in the background trying to work things out.”

“If technology can make me a better manager, I would work somewhere where they use (it)” she concluded.

Click here to discover more way foodservice management technology can boost team culture and set them up for success.

Why is technology important to the future generation of foodservice workers?

As a future industry leader, Lauryn and her peers represent the success of “tomorrow” in the aging services foodservice space. So, how important will technology be to attracting top talent? According to Lauryn – very important.

If a community “has technology, everyone wants to go there, because that's how they are growing up. So, if everything can be technologized that would attract so many workers... (and) even customers,” she said.

Cheers to Lauryn and all of her future success in our industry! Click here to connect with her on LinkedIn and stay in the loop as she launches her career.