Local and Sustainable Food in Hospitals

Ensuring that you are consuming safe and nutritious food goes way beyond what is listed on the nutrition label. How food is grown, its quality, and freshness is just as important (if not more) than the carbohydrate, fat, and protein content in food. As a registered dietitian, I am often frustrated by how many medical professionals overlook these key elements to health. It is about time that we start offering fresh, nutritious and organic foods in health care institutions, including hospitals, because these organizations are supposed to support our health and encourage healing.

I am very excited to hear that hospital food directors across the country are starting to incorporate “green” food purchasing in their food service operations. One food service director at Swedish Covenant Hospital on Chicago’s North Side, Maria Simmons, is running an almost 100 percent organic and local kitchen. The Urban and Environmental Policy Institute, member of Health care Without Harm, is working to improve food offering in hospitals through out the nation by getting food service directors to buy local organic produce, rBGH-free milk and antibiotic-free meat products. They are also working to get hospitals to offer farmers’ markets on hospital grounds. Kaiser Permanente, a non-profit hospital system, is now sponsoring over 23 farmers markets through out Oregon, California, Washington, and Hawaii. I suggest you check out the websites listed above to see how you can impact what food is being offered at your local hospital.