Flathead County Agency on Aging Nutrition Services Program Manager Dave Caron utilizes his executive chef background to serve quality food to the elderly who need assistance in the community.  

But taste isn’t the only goal for the Agency on Aging kitchen, whose meticulous food safety efforts have also earned it a gold star award from the health department.  

Caron said if anything is worth doing, it’s doing well, especially when it comes to cooking for seniors. 

“I think they deserve to age gracefully, they deserve the nutrition, and I appreciate the opportunity to be able to be a part of that. The food here is quality, it’s good stuff and I'm proud of that,” Caron said.  

The Flathead County Agency on Aging kitchen has serving hundreds of daily meals down to a science. The kitchen prepares the food delivered to seniors through Meals on Wheels and a daily on-site lunch, which amounts to around 500 meals a day, according to Caron. About 200 meals go out to Kalispell seniors, while the rest are distributed to senior centers in Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Bigfork and Lakeside, where volunteers deliver the meals to residences.  

Flathead City-County Health Department Environmental Health Manager Jim Wardensky said the Agency on Aging kitchen has always scored well but should be very proud of the work they put in to get the gold star rating.  

“It really stems from a scenario where the management and the staff have to be fully on board. Other retail food establishments are doing the [requirements] already, they just haven't taken the time to apply for the gold star,” Wardensky said. 

He said out of the hundreds of facilities throughout the county, only three right now have a gold star award: the Agency on Aging kitchen, Costco and Cowboy Up Country Cookin’ in Somers.  

The gold star award was established by the Flathead City-County Board of Health in 2022, as a voluntary program to reward food service establishments for consistently exhibiting a high level of food safety practice.  

Initial award criteria are met when the establishment has three consecutive scores of A or higher, according to the policy. There are also several managerial controls required, which embody a preventative rather than a reactive approach to food safety through a continuous system of monitoring and verification. This includes standard operating procedures like hand washing, glove use, sanitizing and cleaning, as well as safe food temperature monitoring, consistent employee training and thorough record keeping.  

While his kitchen usually earns an A or A+, Caron was curious about what it took to earn the elusive gold star award.  It’s a lot more paperwork — keeping stats on the food from the moment it’s ordered until it shows up on the delivery truck, then tracking temperatures and proper cooking techniques, as well as standardizing sanitation efforts.  

“We keep temperatures on our refrigerators to make sure they're running properly. So, if there's a problem with temperature control, we can address it immediately. Part of being able to acquire this was Danielle Pierce, who's a health inspector with the county. She was really good to work with,” he said.  

There is a lot to keep track of when sending out hundreds of meals a day, so knowing how to properly cook, reheat and serve the food is of great importance.  

The services are dependent on many volunteers, but there are seven people employed in the Agency on Aging kitchen. While there’s a lot of heavy lifting for a small staff, Caron said they “have it down pretty good,” and all work well together. He delegates certain jobs to staff members, which makes it a little bit easier to track and record the information needed.  

 “Anyone who cooks tracks [the food] and when it needs to be cooled properly, preheated and served at a proper temperature. We track all of that on a daily basis, sometimes even on an hourly basis, depending on what's appropriate,” Caron said.  

It took two years of figuring out how to adhere to the standards and working with the county health department to earn the award.  

“From what I understand, there's about almost 900 licensed facilities in the valley for food service and only three of us have this award ... I'm lucky to be able to retain staff in a kitchen setting, which is hard to do anymore, it makes it hard to be able to keep a consistent track,” Caron said. 

With a large amount of storage space, Caron said they are lucky to be able to plan out meals with a variety of ingredients, which are bought in bulk to save money. He creates a menu from what they have on hand and said they can go about two months without a repeat meal. But they’ll often repeat fan favorites.  

A registered dietician reviews the meal plans, which are also offered with low sodium and no sugar. And if it’s needed, they also send out frozen meals on the weekend.  

Most of the meals consist of around 650 to 800 calories. It’s a fraction of what an active, older adult should be consuming, Caron said, but a nutritious meal for someone who has been struggling can make all the difference.  

“You get older and you start losing some of your freedoms, and it can get to where nutrition is going to make a difference between having to find another way [to receive care] or keep you in your house,” Caron said. 

Keeping elderly people in their homes is the goal of Meals on Wheels, which aims to provide some of the necessities for daily meals. While some seniors are wholly reliant on the program, they also offer a 90-day Meals on Wheels program to help people recovering from a surgery or hospital stay.  

“A lot of times, somebody may have gone with help for a while and then they get a big nutritious meal once a day, and we'll hear stories from their families about how they're doing better,” Caron said.  

CARON HAS worked for Flathead County for 11 years, but his career as a chef began decades ago. He trained through the Kansas Culinary Institute, later working in gourmet kitchens and high-end restaurants. He transitioned to cooking for an assisted living facility, which gave him more time to spend with his kids.  

He said cooking for the elderly is one of the most rewarding jobs he’s ever had.  

“Our clients are really thankful for what we provide for them because they have such a true need. But it's more than that — I've always had a little bit of an old soul. I've always been around older people and I like their stories. I appreciate what they've done for all of us. I think we can learn a lot from them, and I think they deserve, most importantly, to have some integrity,” Caron said.  

Integrity is an important word to Caron, who said it embodies exactly what the Agency on Aging is trying to achieve — integrity in the food, how he interacts with his staff and how they engage with their clientele. 

Wardensky said the health department takes into account when establishments serve populations more susceptible to foodborne illness, like schools or long-term care facilities. So, given that the Agency on Aging is serving the elderly, it makes the gold star award more impressive.   

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4440 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support. 

    Kitchen supervisor Glenn Snyder along with a mix of Meals on Wheels volunteers and Agency on Aging staff prepare meals for the Meals on Wheels program at the Kalispell Senior Center on Tuesday, June 9. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Dave Caron, Nutrition Services Program Manager for Flathead County's Agency on Aging, checks in on his staff and volunteers preparing meals for the Meals on Wheels program on Tuesday, June 9. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    The gold star awarded to the Flathead County Agency on Aging kitchen at the Kalispell Senior Center on Tuesday, June 9. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Jim Rychwalski adds a scoop of coleslaw to meals being prepared for the Meals on Wheels program at the Kalispell Senior Center on Tuesday, June 9. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Volunteer Dave Taylor loads a bag containing Meals on Wheels meals into his vehicle for delivery on Tuesday, June 9. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider