Two related duties are easy to blur. Every class whose menu rules apply must communicate the menu, and the times meals, fluids and snacks will be served, to each resident in an appropriate manner. Only a type A continuing care home must also post each day’s menus in one or more public places in the home, before the first meal of a resident’s day.
- Type A: each day’s menus are posted in one or more public places before the first meal of a resident’s day, and the menu and times are communicated to each resident.
- Type B and supportive living that provide a meal, fluids and a snack daily: the menu and serving times are communicated to each resident in an appropriate manner. There is no posting clause.
- “Appropriate manner” is about the resident: large print, read aloud, or discussed at the table for someone who cannot read a board.
The rule by licence class
| Licence class | Communicate to each resident | Post daily in a public place |
|---|---|---|
| Type A continuing care home | Yes: the menu and the times meals, fluids and snacks are served (12(2)(c)) | Yes: before the first meal of a resident’s day (12(2)(d)) |
| Type B continuing care home | Yes: the menu and serving times, where it provides a meal, fluids and a snack daily (13(1)(c)) | No posting clause |
| Supportive living accommodation | Yes: the menu and serving times, where it provides a meal, fluids and a snack daily (13(1)(c)) | No posting clause |
What “before the first meal” means in practice
The posting has to be up before the first meal of a resident’s day, so it is the day’s menu and not the week’s cycle sheet on a back wall. Separately, the standards ask that substitutions are communicated to residents; updating the posted menu is one way to do that, though no clause requires it.
One or more public places suggests somewhere residents and visitors pass: a dining room entrance, a lounge, a lift lobby. A menu pinned up in the kitchen office is unlikely to be one.
Communicating “in an appropriate manner”
The communication duty applies to each resident. A posted board serves residents who can read it; others may need the menu read out, offered at the table, or in large print. In every class the times meals, fluids and snacks are served are part of what is communicated, not only the dishes.
Substitutions and the record of what was actually served are covered in the menu records guide; keeping that record is also a Folio service.
Common questions
Must a type A continuing care home in Alberta post the daily menu?
Yes. Under standard 12(2)(d), menus for meals for each day are posted in one or more public places in the continuing care home before the first meal of a resident’s day.
Do supportive living accommodations have to post the menu?
There is no posting clause for supportive living or type B homes. Where the operator provides a meal, fluids and a snack daily, the menu and the times meals, fluids and snacks will be served are communicated to each resident in an appropriate manner under standard 13(1)(c).
Do meal times have to be communicated as well as the menu?
Yes. Type A standard 12(2)(c), and type B and supportive living standard 13(1)(c) where the operator provides a meal, fluids and a snack daily, ask that the menu and the times at which meals, fluids and snacks will be served are communicated to each resident in an appropriate manner.
This page describes what the Alberta Accommodation Standards say, as read on 9 October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not establish that any home meets a standard, which is a matter for the operator and Alberta’s inspectors. Confirm your licence class and the current text before relying on it.