Fighting Food Fatigue and Expanding Access: A Conversation with Deandra Miller Fajardo

At the heart of senior care and community wellness is the often-overlooked role of nutrition and accessible meal services. We sat down with Deandra Miller Fajardo, Vice President of Administration at Chef for Hire, to discuss how her team supports caregivers and clients across Indiana. From breaking down barriers to meal access, to tackling food fatigue with cultural variety and client-specific options, Deandra offers insight into what makes Chef for Hire stand out in the world of meal program support.

Interview Transcript:

Interviewer:
I want to talk a little bit about your role at Chef for Hire and working with your clients. Can you share with us some of the biggest challenges that caregivers face when it comes to nutrition and meal access—and how you all help with that?

Deandra Miller Fajardo:
I think meal access is really the key. It's about knowing your resources and that these programs exist to begin with. A lot of people don’t know they can get these meals. Even if you’re in the outskirts of Indiana, it’s important to know who your local area agency on aging is. And if you don’t know, give us a call—we can help connect you with the right resources.

Interviewer:
Tell us about some of the programs through the area agencies on aging that people should know about.

Deandra Miller Fajardo:
There’s the Health and Wellness Waiver. If you’re younger than 59 and disabled, you can get on that waiver—meals are funded through it. If you’re 60 or older, you can be on the Pathways for Aging program. Reach out to your local agency, and they can help get you approved. And again, if you're not sure who to contact, you can call us.

Interviewer:
What’s the best number for people to reach out?

Deandra Miller Fajardo:
They can call (317) 637-0845.

Interviewer:
One of the things I’ve heard about—and I know we’ve talked about it before—is food fatigue. Can you explain what that is and how Chef for Hire helps combat it? I know you’ve got some new things in the works, too.

Deandra Miller Fajardo:
Food fatigue is huge, especially with meal programs, because clients feel like they’re getting the same meals over and over. Right now, we’re working to accommodate individual preferences—for example, some clients don’t eat pork or beef, and we make sure to account for that. Soon, we’ll be offering meal choice options, so clients can select their meals.

Of course, we still have to meet weekly nutritional guidelines, not just daily ones. But that’s a priority for us. We also offer seven different rotating menus and a new cultural meal each month to add variety and reflect different tastes—because not everyone wants steak and potatoes. So we're trying to incorporate more different flavors, more foods. We launched an enchilada bowl. We have teriyaki chicken. So we're doing more flavorful food.

Interviewer:
That’s great! And you serve meals in two-week cycles, right? So there’s variety even within the month?

Deandra Miller Fajardo:
Yes, every two weeks there’s a rotation of meals. There are also staple items that clients love—like spaghetti and meatballs or oven-fried chicken. We make sure those remain on the menu. Right now, we have 90,000 meals in our freezer, so we can really respond to client preferences.

If a client only wants spaghetti and meatballs, we can’t serve that as their only meal for a full week due to nutrition guidelines—but we can offer it multiple times within the plan so they get what they enjoy more often.

Interviewer:
That kind of tailoring really sets you apart. It seems like your team listens and works directly with clients to help them eat well and stay healthy.

Deandra Miller Fajardo:
Absolutely. We have clients who don’t want strawberries or mushrooms, and we make that happen as best we can. It’s all about meeting them where they are and helping them stay healthy and satisfied.