Founder
Dr Cherie Hugo
Lantern Alliance was founded in 2013 by Dr Cherie Hugo, an Accredited Practising Dietitian with over 20 years’ experience in private practice, director of The Lantern Alliance and My Nutrition Clinic and PhD focused on Quantifying the Value of Nutrition in Aged Care. Cherie and her team consult to aged care homes across Australia and are passionate about ensuring aged care residents are well nourished and excited about eating.
The Lantern Alliance now has over 1550 collaborative members across Australia and internationally with many aged care organisations, peak industry bodies, allied health, researchers and resident advocates involved. The collaboration meets on a monthly basis (the first Friday of each month) focusing on key priority areas and actively welcomes new members to join in the conversation.
The project has a research arm and has 11 papers currently published and under review demonstrating the positive impact of taking a food-focused approach to resident care. The project has working groups focused on topical areas related to aged care food, nutrition and dining experiences.
There are regular student projects included, for example the Lantern Aged Care Food Safari which culminated in 14 videos showing “Little Things” (cost neutral, novel changes in food service that have demonstrated big, positive impact on the lives of residents).
The combined action-based research, working groups and national collaboration of The Lantern Alliance together work to demonstrate simple ways to meet the vision of improving older adult’s quality of life through the joy of food. These learnings are shared to assist in shaping changes in aged care regulation through the project’s involvement on the Australian Aged Care Quality Standards Guidance Reference Group, the Australian Aged Care Workforce IRC’s Nutrition and Mealtime Experience Technical Advisory Committee and in an advisory capacity to government.
“Good food should be the highlight of the day for aged care residents but sometimes it falls short of expectations. Lantern Alliance was started as a way to explore and illuminate ways to further improve the food and dining experience for residents. Lantern Alliance collaboration is a diverse mix of aged care stakeholders with the shared goal to improve the quality of life of aged care residents through the joy of good food.”
Dr Cherie Hugo
To facilitate and support a International Community of Practice around Aged Care Food, Nutrition and Mealtime Experience
Continue to progress action-based research and research translation
Recognise and reward excellence through Lantern's Epicure ratings
Advocate policy change to focus on the Aged Care Food, Nutrition and Mealtime Experience
To empower aged care staff through education, training and resources
To engage and empower residents and families in food decisions
To assist industry to access local, quality food supplies
Formerly named The Lantern Project, the organisation has grown considerably over the past 10 years to be more than “a project”. As our partnerships and collaborations with industry grew, we felt that a name change to Lantern Alliance provided a better fit to who we are.
So what’s a lantern got to do with anything?
Our purpose is to shine a light on solutions related to aged care food and nutrition. Just as a lantern casts light in all directions, our collaborative approach looks in all directions, drawing on expertise and perspectives from all influences across the aged care food and nutrition system.
Our people are our greatest asset and we are fortunate to have some of the most skilled and experienced talent within the industry contribute to our work, and ultimate success for our clients.
Dr Cherie Hugo
Founder
Anne Clark
Accredited Practising Dietitian
Mel Antal
Business Operations Manager
Loretta Reiken
Chef Consultant
Bernadette Carroll
Hospitality/Customer Service Advisor and Accredited Practising Dietitian
Chantal de Sousa
Accredited Practising Dietitian
Ben Hazelwood
Chef Consultant
Ivan Zrinscak
Lantern Advisor - Hospitality
Colin McDonnell
Lantern Advisor - Dementia
Susan Emerson
Lantern Advisor - Nursing and Palliative Care
Monique Pockran
Lantern Advisor - Community Relations
Bernadette Dutton
Lantern Advisor - Speech Pathology
Angela Malberg
Lantern Advisor - Community Nutrition and Dietetics
Gabrielle Thoreau
Lantern Advisor - Food Safety
Kylie Wales
Lantern Advisor - Occupational Therapy
Mark Anderson
Lantern Advisor - Business and Government Relations
John Moore
Lantern Advisor - Corporate Partnerships and Brand
Ayal Tusia
Lantern Advisor - Communications
© 2025 Lantern Alliance.