One semester of food service program leads to a career in long-term care

Many programs take years to complete, some with no practical experience. One program is changing the way schools work, with one semester consisting of five major components and a 16-week field placement in a healthcare facility. It is the Food Service Worker (1620) program from Centennial College, which provides a high food service degree on nutrition, food quality, and cleanliness.

Under the School of Community and Health Studies, students train based on the food preparation guidelines from the Dietitians of Canada and the Ontario Society of Nutrition Management.The curriculum itself was developed alongside the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The series of courses prepare students to enter the workplace with the skills and ethics of a professional:

Students can appreciate the role of a Food Service Worker by exploring the operations and management of the profession, including quality management, risk management, ethical issues, and laws and regulations.
Workers come into close contact with clients and have to coordinate meal plans and other services with colleagues. Communication and customer service are key to this role and a course has been created to focus on these skills as they are managed in the food service and healthcare sectors.
Another close encounter workers will have is with diseases, so health and safety is a big issue in the workplace. Safety and sanitation is declared an essential skill, which every student is required to understand proper food handling procedures and safe work habits to prevent food contamination and food borne illnesses.
Especially in healthcare, nutrition is vital to menu planning. Students will learn basic food preparation using based on Canada’s Food guide, but will also learn how to accommodate clients with strict diets. Nutrition for therapeutic and texture modificationwill also be explored.
Students will practice their food preparation skills with four hours of kitchen lab sessions per week. They will learn how to handle and maintain kitchen equipment, and how to implement menu planning on a large scale.

Open for enrollment twice a year, students attend the Morningside campus alongside other healthcare students, where they can connect with their peers and gain industry connections early on in their careers. Although this full-time program is offered within 15 weeks, students have the option to enroll through the School of Continuing Education for part-time, distance learning, accelerated, and fast-track program options.

-You will be able to apply at long-term care facilities, working within the dietary department, as well as acute care, which (includes) any hospitals or any community services that have healthcare components in the food service industry,- says Professor Karen Barnes.

Centennial graduates are living healthy careers in long-term care facilities, retirement homes, and hospitals. The Food Service Worker program equips students with the knowledge of kitchen tools and the care for nutrition and safety of food preparation sought out by many healthcare organizations. Graduates receive the Ontario College Certificate as well as a food handler’s certification called the TrainCanBasics.fst Food Safety Certificate. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE