Can anyone shed some light on an elderly mother on hospice who seems so pre-occupied with food?

Okay. Thank you all for your input. While thinking about this last night in bed (of course), I had the idea that she has no other stimulation going on. In other words, she is bored and thinking of wonderful meals she might have gets her going again. I also had the thought that lamb chops might be difficult for her to chew, as she’s had some teeth pulled over the years. So I asked her this morning if this would be a good idea. I would be a bit nervous, even if I cut the meat up small. She’s only had very thin pieces of chicken from meals on wheels, and we always make her pasta dishes with vegetables. So she had to admit it might not be a good idea with the lamb chops.

She will call me however with these brainstorms about what she would like to eat. She never did that before. Almost demanding. I feel she is anxious about meals now. Today she was asking for more tomatoes. She has 4 sitting in the bowl. Is she afraid of running out? She only eats a half one a day. Just something new for her. Not used to it I guess.

I think it is a matter of she has that ONE THING left. I really do.
My partner and I discuss this quite a lot. I am 78 and he is 80. He has GERD so if very limited in what he can eat and what hours he can eat. I myself can eat anything. I think about food A LOT and he is kind of anti food. It has become something he cannot enjoy but must do in limited quantities and amounts and indeed food itself. Whereas I kind of obsess now on GOOD THINGS TO EAT. Not much else in covid times. I mean I love my gardening and walks and the few things I like on TV, and reading. But what I really like is Hamburger and fries. Coke here and there. White one once in a while. Ribs. Quesadillas. And I will kind of obsess on what fun food I am going to have. Could honestly eat same food over and over IF it is spaghetti and great meatballs. (You see what I mean about obsessing on good foods to eat, here?). Pizza! NOW we're talking.
So just get a giggle out of it. And if she is dealing with CHF and still can take this much joy in anything at all, I say more the power to her. She's so lucky to be close to you and have her personal shopper. Carry on. Both of you!

Just a gut reaction, but (a) it might the only thing she can focus on, and possibly control at this stage of her life, and therefore occupies more of her thoughts, or (b) she recognizes that she's losing weight and focuses on food as a method to stave off further decline.

At any rate, I think her choice of lamb, potatoes and broccoli reflects a good balance, and that may be part of her approach to address weight loss.

To me it shows good insight, so I would encourage it. If it helps her plan her day, and exercise thinking options, I think it's a good thing to encourage.

I also think that until we're in that situation, it's probably pretty hard for us to intuit what others are thinking. Communications aren't always capable of being that clear.

It could be as simple as the fact that at her age and with her health there is little else for her to look forward to and have any control over, it's wonderful of you to work so hard to accommodate her!

I’ve had experience with people in facilities who seem to fixate about the next meal. It’s what they talk about, think about, relive etc. At worst, they just sit there stone faced and wait for the next meal. Others don’t seem interested at all. Your mother is fortunate to have some choice, with your help. It may be partly the texture that she likes from you. Because so many people in facilities (or with meals on wheels) have to have their food as mush, your offer of lamb chops would sound just great! Just don't let her demands run you ragged.