With the kitchen at Maryann Home and Hospital currently out of action during the renovations, residents have not experienced any change to their meals, and thanks to the generous loan of a Toyota Hiace from Tasman Toyota the meals have been successfully delivered on time, says domestic services supervisor at Maryann, Jo Russ.
The van has been an absolute life-saver, it's always here, and is incredibly spacious, meaning we can transport the food from Marire to Maryann without any trouble.
Originally, kitchen staff thought they would have to change the menu "quite a bit," says Jo, however that hasn't turned out to be the case. "There were a couple of things that didn't travel so well, but on the whole, we have been able to serve the same meals as we always have, so residents have not seen any change in the level of service at all."
"We are really grateful to James Crighton, chief executive officer of Tasman Toyota, for the generous loan of the Hiace," says Peter McDonald, chairman of Agecare Central which manages both the Marire and Maryann complexes, who adds that without the van, "it would have been much harder to manage the renovations while continuing to provide the excellent service that both Marire and Maryann pride themselves on".
With the kitchen due to be back in service by the end of the month, Jo says staff are looking forward to working in their new space. "It is going to be great to be back at Maryann, however it has been lovely working alongside staff at Marire, and all the staff deserve plenty of praise for working so hard to ensure all meal service is as normal while we have been working out of a different kitchen."
