Institute prescribes fix for hospital food

Hospital foodservice operations can and should improve their menu offerings in a manner that both supports local agriculture and sets an example for consumers to follow, according to a report released last month by Occidental College's Urban and Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI) and the Center for Food and Justice.

The retail component of hospital foodservice—cafeterias, cafes, snack bars, etc.—today comprises approximately 60% of meal volume, according to industry sources and FSD's own Hospital Census. Yet, the report's co-authors believe that retail offering falls short of standards the market should strive for.

Modern plague: "Hospital food is plagued with a reputation for unappetizing, unappealing and processed fare with limited nutritional value," says Mark Valliantos, an adjunct professor at Occidental and research director for UEPI. "This reputation has been reinforced with the proliferation of fast food outlets within hospital grounds and sodas and junk food in the vending machines."

"One would expect the nation's hospitals to model healthy eating as part of their preventive health care strategies," adds Moira Beery, a UEPI research associate. "Ironically, hospitals sometimes perpetuate the epidemic of poor nutrition in America."

Beery believes this situation "represents an obvious opportunity to expand farm-to-institution connections," which is the focus of UEPI's "Farm to Hospital: Promoting Health and Supporting Local Agriculture" report. It recommends that hospitals should:

•Purchase more food locally and work with farmers, farm co-ops, farmer registries and other groups to "overcome logistical barriers to a farm-to-institution approach."

•Set up farmers' markets on hospital grounds, "especially in neighborhoods that lack a local market."

•Sell less "food with nutritional value" in cafeterias, restaurants and vending machines.

•Create on-site community gardens as a resource for hospital staff.

•Promote fresh food access into nutrition and health counseling programs.

Some hospitals are already doing exemplary jobs of striving for and achieving these goals, UEPI says. These include Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC, which holds a weekly farmers' market and serves "Healthy Lunches" as part of its Live for Life program. Another is Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center in Santa Cruz, CA, which buys almost 20% of its produce from trainee farmers in nearby Salinas. And Billings (MT) Deaconess Clinic purchases and serves locally raised turkey.