What this Looks like in Practice:

• People have choices of when, where and with whom they would like to eat (e.g., no set mealtimes or assigned seats, an individual can request alternative meals if desired, etc.).
• People can eat a meal or snack at any time (e.g., if they miss a meal due to an activity, they do not have to wait for the next meal to eat; the provider can set aside a plate for them to reheat later or provide an alternate meal when they return).
• People have a place to store their own snacks if they want.
• The kitchen and food storage areas are accessible to people who live in the home. Kitchen cabinets and refrigerators are not locked or “off-limits.”
• People who work have access to food through typical workplace rules that all employees follow.
• Examples of support may include:
  • Assisting with budgeting and shopping for snacks
  • Assisting with safe storage of snacks
  • Providing alternative choices when a main meal option is not chosen or when the participant eats a meal outside of a standard mealtime
  • Assisting with healthy food choices without controlling or discounting the participant’s preferences
• The setting may not limit a person’s access to food items solely based on:
  • Whether staff think the food is “junk food”
  • The staff’s personal beliefs
  • A staff’s perception that the person is not a healthy weight
• If it’s an agreed upon goal in a person’s person-centered plan, staff at the setting can assist a person to learn about better food choices and how to make them – but staff still respect the person’s decisions, even if they don’t agree with them.
• The setting does not limit a person’s access to food unless there is an identified and documented risk to the person’s health or safety that requires rights modification.