Food Service Programs · Residential Care
Meal Programs for Residential Care and Group Homes in Chicagoland
Breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week, cooked from scratch and built around each resident’s diet. Delivered labeled and ready to heat. No cooking by house staff.
CILA group homes and residential settings for adults with developmental disabilities. Built around your houses, not a fixed menu. Run by a Frato’s chef.
Or call: (847) 895-2122
What Matters in a Group Home Kitchen
Dietary safety and day-to-day consistency are not negotiable in a residential setting. Residents eat every meal from this program, so the standard has to hold on a Tuesday in February the same as it did at the sampling. Cooking for care settings holds us to a standard of consistency, dietary precision and reliability we bring to every account.
Diets followed, every meal
GERD, lactose-free, sodium awareness and allergies planned per resident and labeled on the container, not left to whoever is on shift.
Deliveries that show up
A set schedule, daily or bulk, the same chef, and nothing left to chance on a weekend.
Food residents keep eating
Scratch-cooked, familiar formats, a rotation that changes as the houses tell us what they like.
How a Residential Program Runs
Here is the shape of one residential program we run today, with the houses and residents unnamed. Every program is custom: yours is built to your count, your diets, your delivery schedule and your budget.
The houses
A small network of group homes, each with its own residents, each getting its own pans. Three meals a day, seven days a week, separated by house and by meal.
Delivery built to the program
This one runs on two bulk deliveries a week: a mid-week delivery covers the next three days refrigerated, and the end-of-week delivery covers the weekend refrigerated plus the next two days frozen, labeled for thaw and reheat. Other programs run daily delivery. It depends on the budget and the program.
No cooking by house staff
Family-style pans, oven- and microwave-reheatable. Staff heat and serve. Nothing needs a cook on site.
Diets built in
A full GERD-compliant menu for the houses that need it, lactose-free portions in separate containers labeled LF, low-sodium deli meats, sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter.
Medical Diets, Planned Per Resident
Factory food arrives in fixed trays, so most providers can only leave items off. We cook from scratch, so we change the ingredient and keep the dish.
GERD-compliant menu
No tomato sauces, no fried foods, no spicy seasonings, no citrus or acidic ingredients, no chocolate or mint. Baked, braised and roasted proteins. Cauliflower alfredo, butternut squash and mushroom cream sauces in place of tomato. Herb seasoning instead of spice.
Lactose-free
Separate containers, labeled LF, so the right portion reaches the right resident without a question at the counter.
Sodium awareness
Watched across the menu, including low-sodium deli meats on sandwich days.
Allergies
Planned per resident with verified substitute products. Sunflower seed butter, not peanut butter, across residential menus.
Nut-free food service area
Food service meals are made in a nut-free area of our Schaumburg kitchen. No peanuts or tree nuts are used in food service meals, which is why residential and daycare menus use sunflower seed butter.
Halal, vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free paths
Each resident who needs one gets a separate path alongside the main dish, labeled.
What the Menu Looks Like
Every program gets its own rotation. These are examples from residential and care menus we cook today, named plainly, no prices.
Breakfast
Oatmeal · Cereal · Whole-grain bread with sunflower seed butter · Fruit · Muffins · Pancakes and waffles · Whole-wheat waffles · English muffins · Mini bagels
GERD-style mains
Baked, braised and roasted proteins · Cauliflower alfredo · Butternut squash cream sauce · Mushroom cream sauce · Herb-seasoned vegetables cooked to temperature
Comfort and classics
Chicken Tenders with Mashed Potatoes · Spaghetti & Meat Sauce · Mac & Cheese with Chicken Bites · Creamy Dreamy Alfredo · Chicken Enchiladas · Burgers with pasta salad
Bowls and sandwiches
Taco Rice Bowl · Chicken Burrito Bowl · BBQ Bowl · Sesame Chicken with rice · Cold subs on Turano bread with low-sodium deli meats
Built to the budget
You tell us the budget per resident per day and we build the menu to fit it as closely as we can. The cost of a program is mostly labor and delivery, not food, so the format is the lever: family-style pans cost less than individually packed meals, and two bulk deliveries a week cost less than daily delivery. Daily is available when the program and budget call for it.
Invoiced to the facility
One invoice to the facility for all houses, separated by house so your accounting matches your deliveries.
How Your Program Starts
No package to pick from. We build it with you.
1
A conversation
Houses, resident count, the diets in each house, delivery windows, how staff heat and serve, and the budget you have in mind.
2
The build
A rotation per house, a dietary path per resident, the delivery schedule, and the labeling so the right pan reaches the right house.
3
Agreement, then sampling
A non-binding agreement with a first-week opt-out. Then a complimentary sampling. If it is not right, you can cancel.
4
Launch with your chef
Your chef runs it week to week, adjusts the rotation as the houses respond, and is the person you call.
We develop our own chefs in-house through our apprenticeship, which is how the food stays scratch-made.
Residential Care Meal Program FAQ
Do house staff have to cook anything?
No. Meals arrive family-style in oven- and microwave-safe pans, separated by house and by meal, labeled for thaw and reheat. Staff heat and serve.
How often do you deliver?
As often as your program calls for. Daily delivery, or two bulk deliveries a week with refrigerated meals for the next few days and frozen, labeled meals for the weekend. The schedule is set by your budget and your custom program, and it can change.
Can you run a full GERD-compliant menu?
Yes. No tomato sauces, no fried foods, no spicy seasonings, no citrus or acidic ingredients, no chocolate or mint. Proteins are baked, braised and roasted. Sauces are built on cauliflower alfredo, butternut squash and mushroom cream instead of tomato, and dishes are seasoned with herbs instead of spice.
How do you handle lactose intolerance and other individual diets?
Per resident. Lactose-free portions are packed in separate containers labeled LF. Sodium is watched across the menu, including low-sodium deli meats. Allergies get their own path. Because we cook from scratch, we change the ingredient instead of dropping the dish.
Do you use peanut butter?
No. Food service meals are made in a nut-free area of our Schaumburg kitchen, and no peanuts or tree nuts are used in them. We use sunflower seed butter in place of peanut butter across residential menus.
Does the menu rotate?
Yes. A rotation is built for your houses and adjusts as residents and staff tell us what works. Every program gets its own rotation.
What goes wrong with other providers?
The programs that come to us usually describe the same list: diets not followed, sodium ignored, lactose intolerance ignored, missed deliveries, and food residents stopped eating. We publish our standard rather than name anyone, and we build the program so those things cannot slip.
Can we try it first?
Yes. Once the program is built and a non-binding agreement is in place, we schedule a complimentary sampling. The agreement includes a first-week opt-out.
Who runs our account?
A Frato’s chef. You work directly with the chef who built your menu, not a sales rep. Our kitchen is at 628 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg and we serve residential programs across Chicagoland. Call (847) 895-2122 or send the inquiry form and a chef will confirm your location.
Tell a Chef About Your Houses
Resident count, the diets, the delivery days and the budget you have in mind. A chef builds the program with you from there.
Call: (847) 895-2122 · Catering@FratosKitchen.com
Frato’s Personal Chef Catering & Food Service · 628 S. Roselle Road, Schaumburg, IL 60193 · All food service programs · Private schools · Workplaces