NYC Health celebrates milestone of serving over 1.2 million plant-based meals

NYC Health Hospitals and its foodservice provider Sodexo recently celebrated serving over 1.2 million plant-based meals since launching its plant-based meals program in 2022.

Last year, which was the first full calendar year of the program, the health system served 783,000 plant-based meals to its patients, resulting in a 36% reduction in carbon emissions and a cost savings of 59 cents per meal, according to NYC Health.

Patients who ate the plant-based meals also reported a satisfaction rate of over 90%.

The health system initially began serving plant-based meals in 2019 with the introduction of Meatless Monday. In March 2022, it officially launched its plant-based meals program and gradually transitioned to serving plant-based meals as the default option to patients for lunch and dinner. Meat-based meals are still available to patients upon request.

All the meals are made from scratch at NYC Health Hospitals’ culinary center in Brooklyn and include black bean burgers, mushroom stroganoff, penne pasta with pea pesto and three bean chili.

The Sodexo culinary team includes Food Service Associates who, in addition to taking a patient’s food order, educate them about that day’s plant-based options and gather their feedback.

New recipes are piloted as a “Chef’s Recommendation” and are only added to the permanent menu if they receive a patient satisfaction score of 80% or above. Patients are also discharged with a booklet containing plant-based recipes that they can make at home.

“Many of the conditions that bring our patients to the hospital – like cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes – can be improved with plant-based eating, so it only makes sense that as a hospital system, we serve plant-based meals to our patients,” said NYC Health Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, in a statement. “Nutritious, tasty food is another way we care for our patients. Our plant-based menu reflects our patients’ cultural diversity so they can experience familiar dishes to make their hospital stay more comfortable.”