Ask an Expert – January 2021 – Planning Meals for Special Needs Persons

Donna Jodhan, a woman with short dark hair and glasses, sits at a table with a laptop in front of her.

Before you say no or turn thumbs down on these suggestions; consider these thoughts.

You can definitely increase your revenue and reduce both your internal and external costs and here’s how.

Take it from me! I have been an accessibility awareness consultant and advisor since 1998 and I continue to help companies to increase their revenues, reduce their costs, and reach hidden consumer markets!

Now as a sight loss coach I am helping consumers with sight loss to become more aware of their environment and their requirements and this is helping companies to have a better understanding of how they need to plan and execute their initiatives.

I truly believe that planning meals for persons with special needs is a somewhat unique or niche market but at the same time it is a growing market because of more consumers qualifying for it.

Planning meals is just the start; how about advertising it, delivering it, plus more?

The first fact to keep in mind is that a person with a special need is someone who could be a senior, someone with a physical disability, or someone with a learning, invisible, or vision disability.

With this in mind, here are some very potent tips to get you started.

  • Make sure that your meals are simple; no fuss or no muss. That is, easy for your clients to be able to navigate and negotiate when they embark on eating it.
  • That your meals meet the nutrition and medical requirements of your consumers. That is, be aware of the needs of diabetics, and those who need to follow special diets.
  • Home delivery is always a very welcomed service to consumers with disabilities and served in containers that are easy to handle and open.
  • If you advertise online then you need to go the extra mile to ensure that your website is easy to navigate and negotiate.
  • Then it would definitely be a huge bonus to provide customer service via phone by staff who are suitably trained to communicate effectively with customers with special needs.
  • Make sure that your delivery staff are also suitably trained to communicate with customers with special needs. There is nothing more gratifying to have your customers tell you that your delivery staff was so helpful when they came to their door.

The secret to success lies in planning and executing.

I hope that these tips are a good start for you.


To contact me, please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca!
I’m Donna J. Jodhan (sight-loss coach and accessibility advisor)

This entry was posted in Ask an Expert. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.