New Pond Village’s Lacey Rainey Recognized with National Award

Walpole, MA. – Chef Lacey Rainey, the dynamic food and beverage director at New Pond Village, has been honored for her creativity and commitment to excellence by a national senior living publication. WTWH Healthcare has named Rainey to its DISHED Senior Living Dining Innovation Awards inaugural Class of 2025. She was recognized as a “Palate Pleaser” for her innovation in menu creation, use of ingredients, and culinary techniques.

The awards seek to recognize visionaries in the senior living industry who are “transforming senior living dining.” Rainey joined New Pond Village in 2023, bringing a passion for not only good food but also memorable moments. With that energy, she has invigorated the food and beverage team at New Pond Village and elevated the dining experience.

“We’re so fortunate to have Lacey on our team,” said New Pond Village Campus Executive Director Adam Manchester. “She loves what she does and that’s comes through in the relationships she’s built with her team and our residents. Whether she’s introducing an exotic dish or collaborating on a resident’s family recipe, Lacey makes dining one of the highlights of living and working at New Pond Village.”

In her time at New Pond Village, Rainey has introduced menu items like honey and fig-glazed salmon with parmesan risotto, seared duck with lavender honey, and Vietnamese pho and bao buns. “Residents at New Pond are adventurous, more so than I’ve been used to in senior living,” she says.

Rainey was educated at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont and worked at the historic Deerfield Inn in Western Massachusetts before transitioning into the senior living environment where she emphasized fresh, preservative-free ingredients and recipes made from scratch. She seeks to create dishes that do more than satisfy the taste buds. “My chefs and I can create something that can bring back memories,” she says. “Every meal we cook here makes a difference and it means a lot more than cooking anywhere else.”

WTWH Healthcare, the publisher of Senior Housing News, recognized 38 senior living dining innovators across five categories in its inaugural class for this award. In addition to Rainey, three other dining professionals from Benchmark Senior Living communities were honored.

About New Pond Village

Set on the banks of Willett Pond in Walpole, Massachusetts, New Pond Village is a Benchmark Lifecare continuing care retirement community. As part of Benchmark Senior Living, New Pond Village offers exceptional, maintenance-free senior living, a wide variety of premium services and amenities and a full continuum of on-site healthcare. For more information, please visit www.newpondvillage.com.