With sustainable practices becoming more common in healthcare, it's immportant to know where to start. Holly Freishtat, a food & society policy fellow and media coordinator for Health Care Without Harm, an organization that promotes environmentally responsible practices for hospitals, speaks about a good way for hospitlas to become more sustainable: introducing locally-sourced food programs.
Holly Freishtat, a food & society policy fellow and media coordinator for Health Care Without Harm, an organization that promotes environmentally responsible practices for hospitals, advises on how to introduce locally-sourced food programs.
“You want to start at the easiest time, in the summer and fall. As you develop a system, you can expand over the whole year because there are products that you can store, like potatoes and apples, or that you can source. Find out what’s available and what’s in season.
Start small and go with seasonal foods first. Contact your distributor and GPO. They may not have what you’re looking for, but it’s good to ask. The distributor wants to satisfy you. If you keep asking, they are going to provide it, otherwise they know you’ll look for another source.
A lot of operators are concerned about costs. If you try to do everything exactly the same, it could be more expensive. One option is not to provide as many choices, but the fewer choices you do provide are so excellent that you don’t have to provide 1,000 different options. When you’re buying in-season, you can have the competitive prices. Also, realize that if you’re a hospital with huge needs, a small-scale farmer won’t be able to meet your needs or price point. A mid-sized farmer who already wholesales and has contact with distributors is going to have competitive prices.”