The kitchen at the Home has existed since 1950. The first kitchen staff included Jelena Beljuc, Marija Trifunjagić, Milena Maljugić, and Leposova Stanković. Until the early 1970s, these four women were the backbone of the kitchen. The kitchen was located next to the main building, near the auxiliary facility. It consisted of two rooms that opened into the courtyard. The dining room for one hundred people was connected to the kitchen. There was a smaller room adjacent to the kitchen where freshly bought groceries were prepared.
At that time, the kitchen had a typical local appearance, with usual patterns on the walls. A solid fuel stove and an electric stove were used for cooking. Additionally, for specific dishes (like beans and sweet cabbage), meals were prepared outside in a cauldron. Breakfast usually consisted of bread spread with something, along with tea or white coffee. Lunch always included a cooked meal, such as goulash with dumplings, stew, cabbage, or mixed vegetables, with meat served twice a week. A typical dinner for the residents included bread soaked in broth or bread spread with lard. The kitchen staff was also responsible for preparing winter preserves (like cooked tomatoes and sauerkraut). Occasionally, the residents themselves helped the cooks as part of a form of occupational therapy. The site of the current kitchen was once an economic yard where livestock and poultry were raised for kitchen needs. The kitchen began its workday at five o'clock.
Until the late 1970s, kitchen work was carried out in the old kitchen, and from 1979 onwards, in the newly built kitchen, which is still in use today. In the early 1970s, the kitchen team and auxiliary staff were joined by Nada Tašin, Desanka Draganov, Zlatica Đuričin, Veselinka Vlaškalin, Mileva Marić, Desanka Dujin, Verica Rajić, and Marija Blažić. This kitchen team functioned until the late 1990s when some members retired. Since then, new staff members have joined the kitchen: Jasmina Busija, who became the head until she retired due to disability in 2017, replaced by Svetlana Đuričin, who was previously a cook. Other members of the kitchen team include Jelkica Stankov, Anka Gogić, Ivica Sudarski, Oskar Sič, Dragoljub Makrin, Slađana Marčić, Atila Boljoš, Atila Seleš, Tanja Pecarski, Bojan Draganov, Vlastimir Lalić, Monika Suručić, and Zorica Boljoš. The institution's management also trained already employed auxiliary workers to become skilled cooks to improve work quality.
During the summer of 2010, following the sanitary inspection's order, a thorough adaptation and reconstruction of the kitchen block were carried out, especially the central kitchen, which had seen little investment until then. The kitchen was equipped with all necessary electrical appliances, supporting equipment, and other essential tools. This was based on a report prepared according to NASSR standards. The ISO standard 9001:2008 with NASSR was introduced into the institution's operations during 2013 and 2014. Since this standard expired in 2018, a process is underway to renew it and replace it with the 150 9001:2015 series standards. The goal is to develop a quality management system that minimizes safety risks to service quality and the health safety of food products. Therefore, employees must undergo training to work in this system and complete the "hygienic minimum" education.
As the Home's capacity expanded, so did the scope of food preparation and serving tasks for the residents. With the number of residents reaching 425 and the hiring of more workers, there was a need to separate certain roles, i.e., workers for specific tasks. The main reason for this was better control of the sanitary and health safety of the foodstuffs. Until 2008, the situation was such that everyone worked in the distribution kitchens, depending on who was available, mostly cleaners and caregivers. Since then, servers responsible for proper food distribution have been assigned to the second and third departments, where distribution kitchens exist. The first servers, and those from later periods, came from the ranks of already employed workers: Požunić Nada, Oroslamoš Monika, Mučalov Marta, Gurjanov Tatjana, Igrutinović Slavica, Stanković Dijana, and Tomić Biljana.
Additionally, kitchen services were enhanced. Besides providing cooking services for the public as needed, daily cooking for the Day Club members was introduced. The daily menu is the same for both our institution's residents and the Day Club members. When preparing the weekly menu, a committee is involved that includes ward nurses, the head nurse, a doctor, the head chef, cooks, servers, and a resident representative. Everyone strives to respect the residents' wishes.
The opinions of the medical staff are considered for each individual resident, and their religious and personal beliefs are respected when it comes to food.
The Institute of Public Health of Zrenjanin controls the food and hygiene of the facility and equipment. Their findings indicate that the hygiene of the facility is at an enviable level and that the food is tasty, plentiful, varied, and prepared according to the needs of both the residents and staff. Attention is paid to the caloric and nutritional value, and the tradition of "home cooking" is also maintained.
Marija Trifunjagić is mentioned as the first storekeeper in the Home (1954), followed by Milivoj Perić, who held this position the longest (from 1974 until retirement). He was assisted and later succeeded by Igor Molnar. The warehouse mainly dealt with food and supplies for personal hygiene, space hygiene, and laundry maintenance.
The hygiene service ensures a pleasant and dignified stay. The first hygienists were Julija Gorča (1953), Radojka Arsin (1975), Nevenka Veljagić (1975), and Milica Đukićin (1976). Until 2004, caregivers occasionally performed this job along with their regular activities, such as bathing and feeding residents and cleaning toilet areas. To eliminate this apparent inconsistency regarding health and sanitary correctness, in 2004, caregiver positions were finally separated from cleaner positions by hiring more cleaners. Due to their years of experience in these tasks, the existing workers were promoted to caregivers, and new workers were hired as cleaners. The primary job of cleaners-hygienists is maintaining the hygiene of indoor spaces: rooms, sanitary blocks, and workspaces. All newly hired workers had to attend workshops on adapting to work in this type of institution, as well as on communication and cooperation with other employees and residents. Although the workshops had a good effect, this practice was discontinued over time.
The first cycle of educational workshops with new staff was initiated by psychologist Dragica Fink in 2005. The goal of this work was to familiarize them with the characteristics of the residents of this institution and ways to respond adequately in their interactions. This way, residents would have even better living conditions, and workers, with new knowledge, would perform their jobs better and establish a better relationship with the residents.
In this segment of the institution's work, we also mention the laundresses. Similar to the server positions, this service was also separated as a distinct role. By establishing the laundress position, this job is performed much better and faster, and the engagement and responsibility of the responsible persons are also greater.
Since 1975, the Home has had a hair salon. Nikola Petrović - Brica started working as a barber and hairdresser. Shaving was done on Tuesdays and Fridays, and haircuts were done every working day. After four years, Eržebet Juhas, who owned her own hair salon, was hired as a women's hairdresser. Since not all wards had their own salons, hairdressing services were provided in dining rooms. When barber Petrović retired, Nada Stevković started working, soon becoming the only hairdresser in the Home, as her colleague also retired. It was not until 1995 that Slavica Trifunac was hired as a hairdresser in the second ward. Nada retired in 2013, and Jelena Oroslamoš took her place. Jelena worked until 2018, when Svetlana Dujin replaced her. Initially, residents' shaving and haircuts were done with the simplest tools - a razor, a trimmer, a blade... until 2002, when hair salons in all three wards were modernized. New services, such as hair coloring, perming, and creating modern hairstyles, were introduced. This trend continued later, so the quality of hairdressing services is at an enviable level.
