Good Meal Co delivers nutritionally balanced meals which present and taste great too
SPC has built a strong presence in Australia’s institutional foodservice sector through its SPC ProVital brand of diced fruit juice, fruit purees and juices, a mainstay of health and aged care throughout the nation. More recently SPC ProVital has been complemented by SPC’s acquisition of the Good Meal Co range of readymade frozen meals for hospitals, healthcare and assisted living. SPC National Account Manager – Health and qualified dietitian Jelica Vrkic tells us more about Good Meal Co meals and how they have been developed to provide a restaurant-quality meal solution for hospitals and healthcare.
“The Good Meal Co is an established business which has worked with NSW Health to create a series of readymade frozen meals for using in NSW hospitals using the room service delivery model.
“In recent years hospitals have been moving away from the traditional production kitchen approach to provide patients with a wider variety of contemporary meal choices.”
“These are available as and when the patient desires, while at the same time fulfilling relevant nutritional standards.”
SPC acquired the Good Meal Co brand and parent business some 12 months ago. “We saw the brand as a good alignment with our SPC ProVital offering which already has a presence within hospitals and healthcare, ensuring we can deliver a really comprehensive offering in terms of nutritious food,” Jelica says.
The meals have been formulated to provide the right type of nutritious food while also presenting attractively and tasting great. “We have had very positive feedback in terms of flavour, texture and presentation,” says NSW HealthShare which utilises the Good Meal Co meals on its My Food Choice menus. “So we know these meals have had a lot of positive impacts for patients.”
There are currently 13 meals in the range, chosen from across a range of cuisine styles and featuring popular favourites such as Satay Beef, Shepherd’s Pie, Thai Green Curry, Roast Chicken and Roast Lamb. Gluten free and Halal choices are also provided and there is new product development currently underway to cater for other specialty diets within a hospital setting. Each meal is around 420g serving size and comes in a round tray with pre-perforated film so it can be easily heated without needing to be pierced first.
Meals are served still sealed, which Jelica says is important from a hygiene and infection control perspective: “It provides the patient with the assurance that the meal has come to them without being touched by anyone.”
In addition to creating frozen meals for hospitals and healthcare which are available through foodservice distributors, the Good Meal Co also operates a delivery service for those living at home who may need assistance with meals. Often these people are supported by the NDIS or a home care package and may have funding support available to purchase meals. There are around 70 choices in the range including chicken, beef, lamb, fish, vegetarian and vegan options along with some soups and snacks. It even includes some plant-based protein meals for the growing flexitarian market.
“These have been developed as convenient homestyle meals that someone can help themselves to, as a means of increasing their independence and self-reliance. Our meals delivered into the home provide a nutritionally balanced choice as per Australian dietary guidelines for recommended serves of vegetables and lean proteins while limiting added salt.”
SPC’s research and development team is working on expanding the Good Meal Co range, with product development personnel working closely with chefs, dietitians and food technologists and trialling recipes both internally and externally, sending samples out to key customers.
“The biggest request we’re getting is for specialty diets, so we’re keen to fill some of those gaps into the market and create products which will slot in nicely and deliver on those needs.”
“We’ve been working closely with private hospitals and healthcare facilities in recent months, and there’s a lot of interest in having readymade meals available. We’re finding that even those sites which operate on the cook fresh model recognise the value in having a backup of frozen meals available, especially in the event of kitchens having to shut down for terminal cleans following a case of Covid.”
To find out more about the Good Meal Co range contact SPC Food Solutions: https://spc.com.au/food-service/
