21st September 2026
From Feedback to Plate: Developing Our New Service User Menu
Providing nutritious, appetising and enjoyable meals is an important part of supporting the health and wellbeing of our service users.
Over the past 18 months, our working group involving Knockbracken Foods, Catering Services, Dietetics and Speech and Language Therapy has reviewed and updated our menu to better meet the needs and preferences of our service users.
Why Are We Changing the Menu?
As part of the review, we gathered feedback from service users and staff to help shape decisions on:
📋 Which menu items should be retained
🕒 Preferred meal timings
🍽️ Menu choices and variety
🥗 Provision for special diets
♻️ Opportunities to reduce food waste
What Did Our Service Users Tell Us?
The feedback gathered highlighted what matters most to our service users and has directly informed the redesign of the menu.
🌙 72% would prefer their main hot meal to be served in the evening
⭐ 70% rated food quality as good or excellent
🍽️ 74% rated menu variety as good or excellent
🌱 There was clear interest in having more vegetarian/vegan options, sandwiches and fish dishes
✅ 96% reported suitable menu options were available to meet their needs
🥗 Service users requiring special diets requested more variety
Our Menu Development Roadmap
Listening & Reviewing
👂 Listening to Service Users
📋 Menu Audit
♻️ Food Waste Monitoring
Developing & Testing
🛒 Product Procurement
👨🍳 New Recipe Development
🥄 IDDSI Testing
⚙️Review of Production Processes
Implementing
📊 Nutritional Analysis & Dietary Coding
📝 Menu Design & Production
📢 Education & Promotion
What Did We Consider?
Developing a menu that meets the needs of all our service users requires careful consideration of a wide range of factors. Throughout the review, the working group evaluated allergens, special dietary requirements, nutritional adequacy and service user feedback. Operational factors such as staffing and equipment, product availability and budgets were assessed alongside opportunities to improve sustainability and minimise food waste.
Key Improvements Achieved
✅ Greater choice and variety across the menu
✅ Improved sustainability and reduced food waste
✅ More vegan and plant-based options
✅ New IDDSI Level 6 dishes developed and tested with service users
✅ Additional options across all IDDSI diet levels
✅ An increased range of gluten-free choices
✅ Clear dietary coding, including identification of high-protein and vegan meals
✅ Menu choices that better reflect service user preferences
Our Commitment
We remain committed to providing nutritious, appetising, safe and enjoyable meals, with greater choice, variety and quality for all service users, including those requiring special diets.
We value the feedback provided by our service users and staff to help continually improve the mealtime experience across the Belfast Trust. The new menu better reflects our service users preferences while continuing to meet their nutritional, dietary and therapeutic needs.