Healthcare dining trending: Chef Matt Melone goes from owning a restaurant to healthcare dining, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center feeds the hungry with surplus food

This month in healthcare, Food Management spoke with Chef Matt Melone. The UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital’s new Executive Chef made the transition from owning a restaurant to healthcare dining when he felt something in his life was lacking. He shares his perspective on the trend of restaurant chefs making the move to onsite with us in an interview.

Up north, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center turns gleaned surplus food into meals for feeding the hungry with the help of local agency Grateful Hearts. The agency collects and brings extra product to the hospital kitchen, where it is cooked into meals and delivered to social service outlets in the community using a combination of resources and culinary skills.

In Washington, Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center helps patients with food once they're out of the hospital as well. Patients at risk for malnutrition—either because of a poor diet, chronic illness or the condition that brought them to the hospital in the first place—are eligible for a month of home-delivered ready-to-eat meals.

See what else was trending in healthcare dining this month on Food Management.