Home care service
Meal preparation
Meal preparation is planning, shopping for and cooking fresh, familiar meals in your loved one’s own kitchen — food they actually want to eat, made to their tastes and any dietary needs.
Is this the right kind of help?
You might recognize some of these:
- The fridge holds mostly toast, tea and things past their date
- They’ve lost weight, or say they “can’t be bothered to cook for one”
- Standing at the stove or lifting pans has become tiring or unsafe
- A new diet — low salt, diabetic, soft foods — is hard to keep up with
- You’re bringing meals over constantly and it’s still not enough
If a few of those ring true, a conversation with a care coordinator is a good next step — there’s no obligation.
What’s included
- Planning a week of meals around their preferences and any dietary needs
- Grocery shopping to a list and budget, with receipts kept
- Cooking fresh meals from scratch, served at the right temperature
- Preparing meals ahead and labeling them for later in the day or week
- Sitting down to eat together so mealtimes are social, not solitary
- Encouraging regular meals and fluids, and noticing changes in appetite
The exact tasks are set in a written care plan you approve, and adjusted as needs change.
How Selectives delivers it
We cook the food your loved one grew up with, not a menu we’ve decided is good for them. A caregiver will get the recipe for the soup their mother made, and make it that way.
Where there are medical dietary needs — reduced salt for blood pressure, controlled carbohydrates for diabetes, softer textures for swallowing — we follow the guidance you and their doctor have set, and keep meals appetizing within it.
Who it’s for
Meal preparation suits older adults who are eating poorly, losing weight, or finding cooking unsafe or exhausting; people managing a new therapeutic diet; and anyone recovering from a hospital stay who needs to eat well to get their strength back.
Typical schedules
- A daily visit to cook a hot lunch and leave supper ready
- Two or three visits a week to batch-cook and restock the fridge
- Added on to a morning personal-care visit
Care agreements run for a minimum of three months, with two weeks’ notice required to cancel the agreement. Visits have a five-hour minimum and no weekly minimum. Please give 24 hours’ notice to change or cancel a visit; there is no late cancellation fee.
What it costs and how to pay
Pricing is provided after a nurse evaluates your needs. Visits have a five-hour minimum, with no minimum weekly hours. There is currently no additional rate for evening, overnight or live-in care.
Invoices are issued weekly or every two weeks, as agreed. We accept checks and bank transfers. No deposit or card on file is required.
Private pay is our primary focus, and we also work with long-term care insurance and Veterans benefits. Selectives also participates as a Maryland Medicaid provider under the Community Options Program; Medicaid services are subject to eligibility, authorization, program requirements, service availability and other applicable requirements. Contact our care team to discuss your needs and available options.
Meal preparation: common questions
Can you cook for a diabetic or low-salt diet?
Yes. Caregivers prepare meals to the dietary guidance you and your loved one’s doctor have set — diabetic-friendly, low-sodium, low-fat, soft or puréed textures — and keep the food familiar and enjoyable within those limits.
Will the caregiver do the grocery shopping too?
Yes. Caregivers shop to an agreed list and budget, keep receipts, put everything away and rotate the fridge and pantry so older items get used first.
My father won’t eat much. Can that be helped?
Often. Small, frequent, familiar meals, eating together rather than alone, and cooking things he actually likes all help. Caregivers also watch for and report ongoing appetite loss so you can raise it with his doctor.
Do you help with eating as well as cooking?
Preparing and serving meals is part of this service. If your loved one needs hands-on help to eat safely, see our mealtime feeding assistance.
Talk to someone today
A free, no-pressure conversation about what your family needs — call us, or start online and we’ll call you back.