Christopher Voorman, Director of Culinary Services at the Riverwalk Village at the House of the Good Shepherd, a Life Plan Community part of the FellowshipLIFE system, was honored by the Association for Healthcare Food Service (AHF) at its annual conference in early August in Orlando, Florida. 

Voorman, who has been at Riverwalk Village in Hackettstown since March 2022, received the Future Horizon Award, which recognizes those who are new to positions in management (less than five years) that demonstrate a desire for future growth through contributions to their hospital or community. Riverwalk Village at the House of the Good Shepherd is an older adult community with a long history in the Hackettstown region.    

“We are very excited for Christopher,” said Sue Lanza, Executive Director of Riverwalk Village. “He has really made a difference in our food service program. He has brought quality changes that most importantly benefit our residents.”

With a background as both a Chef and a Registered Dietician, Voorman is well-versed in all aspects of dining services. At Riverwalk Village he has implemented and built new policies and procedures, opened a renovated dining room, opened a country store for residents, and created a food committee to help with menu development including special needs for those residents with dietary restrictions. 

“I am happy that the work and effort that went into the past year that I did to help The House get its new food service department rolling was noticed by this organization (AHF),” said Voorman, who is also a board member for AHF’s New Jersey Chapter (membership for AHF stretches across the nation with facilities of varying sizes). “We’ve been able to maximize what we can do at The House and have our program able to compare with those that have been established for years.”

Voorman, who lives in Long Valley, formerly worked as a Chef at JFK Medical Center.  At Riverwalk Village he is encouraged to introduce new ideas and include residents in some of the decision making. 

“I have the freedom to build our program with our residents’ needs always in mind,” he said. “We have monthly meetings with our residents and continue to improve our menus every week with their feedback.  Our administration team is also always supportive. It’s refreshing to be encouraged to bring new ideas and experiences to our operation rather than having to be stuck in the same rotation every week.  Our other departments also work very closely with each other which is nice.  We create fun joint activities with our life enrichment department, experiences that showcase our beautiful campus with marketing, and great events that bring the community together like our recent wine and dine event with our foundation team.”

Voorman feels strongly that change is good when it comes to menus. 

“We try and be creative with the menus and with our (in-house) events,” he said. “We try to not make our menus repetitive and work as many special events in as possible.  For example, during the summer we’ve been exploring different cuisines from the world every week. So far we’ve had menus dedicated to food from France, China, the UK and South America.”

In his expanded role within the community at-large, Voorman has worked with Abilities of Northwest Jersey to employ and help find job placements for individuals with disabilities, not just at Riverwalk Village but at other AHF affilicated kitchens in the area. 

For Voorman, the AHF award is a first for him. In fact, it is his first time getting an award like this ever. Meanwhile, Voorman’s efforts go beyond just an award. He also led a breakout session during the AHF conference.  

“I shared our experience of what made our move from a contract company (at The House) to having our dining services managed in house successful,” said Voorman. “If other companies in the future decide to take the same steps we did, we have more resources to help them make the same transition.”

Voorman makes it clear that Riverwalk Village at The House of the Good Shepherd, which offers a variety of living options for residents, is a place where residents can feel right at home.

“The future is very bright here,” he said. “We have a great team running operations that are all focused on improving the lives of our residents now, while making sure we are set up for success in the future.  Our new parent organization FellowshipLife brings in a fresh perspective focused on creating innovative experiences to enrich and empower older adults that has been instrumental in helping us all achieve our visions and goals.”

For more information about Riverwalk Village at The House of the Good Shepherd visit https://fellowshiplifeinc.org/riverwalk-village/.