Fresh & Local: Supporting Sustainability within Hospital Foodservice
Sustainability-meeting the needs of the present, while ensuring the needs of the future will also be met.
Often we hear this notion with terms such as “going green” or “environmentally friendly”, and it is becoming a rapidly growing trend that is certainly here to stay. People are creating a more sustainable environment each day by choosing to walk or cycle rather than drive, using refillable water bottles, or composting organic wastes at their home. But while individuals seem to be making the switch to more sustainable measures, has the healthcare industry made the switch? And if not, what can be done to encourage more sustainable measures in hospitals?
The healthcare industry has certainly taken note of the need to switch to more sustainable, environmentally-friendly practices. In Spring 2011, Dietitians of Canada published an article in the Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research entitled “Going Green in Foodservices: Can Health Care Adopt Environmentally Friendly Practices”. Within this article, authors explored the scope of green initiatives to determine if these strategies could be implemented in Canadian healthcare institutions. One of the main findings from this article includes buying locally grown food.
According to this article, our food travels approximately 2400 to 4000km (1500 to 2400 miles) before it reaches our plates! Not only does it put a strain on the environment to transport food across countries and continents, but food is also less fresh, and the patients can tell! Providing locally grown foods to patients will not only help to support local farmers and communities and decrease strain on the environment, but will also ensure patients are getting the freshest, most nutritious foods possible. Studies indicate that fresh foods may lose their nutrients quickly during transportation, and so the food that you find on your plate may not be of the same nutritional value as the food that was harvested 4000 kilometers away! Furthermore, only fruits and vegetables that can withstand the arduous journey from harvest to transport to shelf are chosen. So the more delicate fruits and vegetables with longer harvest times are often left out. By choosing locally grown food, you are choosing to buy fruits and vegetables directly from the seller. This means that the produce does not travel thousands of miles to reach your plate and the variety and quality of food is also increased.
How can hospitals make the switch?
How can hospitals make the switch to using more locally grown food, especially if they are choosing to use outsourced meals? I agree this will prove to be a challenge, but it can be overcome! Hospitals can still outsource the majority of their meals, while offering patients a taste of locally grown food. Why not have fresh strawberries as a side with the typical breakfast meal or a locally grown apple to go along with lunch? This would require very little change on behalf of the facility, but patients would still have fresh, local foods to look forward to each day.
But if hospitals do want to include locally grown foods as main menu items, they can certainly be prepared and served in the equipment the facility already has, potentially with little changes to the current operation. The quality of food served is only as good as the quality of food purchased, so I encourage hospital foodservice managers to speak with their distributors about purchasing locally grown foods. Buying local foods in season is a great way to save on food costs. And if labor is an issue, speak with your distributor(s) about buying locally grown foods that come pre-washed and pre-cut. This way very little preparation time is needed. Foods such as carrots, zucchini, and potatoes can all be cooked in bulk or tray retherm units and can have better quality outcomes than frozen, prepared foods. If hospitals were to begin using locally grown foods in their menus, food quality is likely to increase, and therefore so will patient satisfaction!
Foodservice operations are structured to work as effectively and efficiently as possible within large time and budget constraints. Resistance to the fresh and local movement is likely, and quite frankly is anticipated, but I question if there is a need for this resistance. Using fresh and local foods does not mean hospital foodservice operations have to change to onsite, scratch cooking completely. The movement signifies an effort to help support local farmers, provide more nutritious foods to patients, and to increase patient satisfaction of meals. Whether your hospital decides to try its hand at preparing its own fresh and local meals or simply provides patients with a homegrown apple on their tray, patients are sure to recognize and appreciate the change.
Deanna Zidar
Dietetic Intern
