Hospital food making you queasy? Menu changes on the way.
Posted: June 24, 2011
Categories: Food in the News
from Food Forward
Good food may be coming to more patients’ plates thanks to the work of many area activists and health care workers.
photo by Nathan Etherington
That food in hospitals should be nourishing and enjoyable is a seeming no brainer. Yet somehow we’ve let hospital meals become the definition of unappealing, unenjoyable and often remarkably unhealthy food (despite the valiant efforts of hospital dietians to adhere to the letter of the Canada Food Guide).
Thankfully, if recent events in Toronto are anything to go by, this may be in the process of changing.
At the end of March the Burger King franchise inside the Hospital for Sick Children shut down its deep-fryer for good. Burger King’s lease was not renewed at the end of a bidding “process meant to offer healthier food options to visitors and staff†according to a Globe and Mail article. You can still find Pizza Pizza and Subway in Sick Kid’s main foyer, but that fact that the health impact of hospital food was even considered is a major step for a sector that is largely driven by the bottom line and budget constraints.
On average Ontario long-term care facilities spend $7.33 per person per day on raw food. Hospitals are allocated the same amount or less, both sums smaller than the average amount spent by correctional facilities on food per inmate per day. Only around 60% of Ontario patients are satisfied with the food they receive and wastage rates are alarming. Canadian statistics are hard to come by but a UK study found that food wastage ranged from 17% and 67%. In a healthcare system stretched to the financial limit issues of satisfaction and waste can become secondary concerns.
For the Canadian Coalition for Green Healthcare (CCGH), however, finding ways to address these secondary concerns is a top priority.
The CCGH is making healthy and sustainable hospital food one of their main objectives in their bid to green Canadian healthcare. Their Local and Sustainable Foods campaign is focusing on shifting hospital food services and procurement to not only be better for patients but to also contribute to sustainable local food economies. In late April CCGH organized the first conference of its kind in Canada bringing together over 60 participants from across the hospital food chain. Group purchasing organizations, major food service contractors including Aramark and Sysco, hospital administrators and food service staff met for a day of open discussion about what is needed, desired and possible in Ontario hospital food systems.
As various pilot initiatives push forward and different facilities consider integrating more local and sustainable food into their patient and cafeteria meals, public support and input are critical. Stay tuned to the Food Forward blog for updates on the evolution of hospital food in Toronto and beyond.
Linda has a passion for healthy, sustainable food. She volunteers with Food Forward – please contact her if you are interested in learning more about hospital food or being involved in a campaign: linda@pushfoodforward.com
One response to “Hospital food making you queasy? Menu changes on the way.”
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I have worked in the long term care industry in British Columbia and Ontario as a Nutrition Manager. Before becoming involved in the long term care environment I was with the Department of National Defense as a Chef. There I completed a twenty year career. My time in Long Term Care spanned over five years. I could not believe the the quality of food I witnessed in some of these environments. In each facility I worked in the cooks had no formal training, if any cook training at all. The staff would work a cook shift one day then a dietary shift the next. The companies running these facilities are only concerned about one thing and that is the bottom line. Most of the line menu items are frozen cutlets, and alot of mix type items. The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care in my estimation are the ones to blame for this as well as the government for allowing this type of food service activity to happen. Most places I had worked in I was busy rectifying the preparation methods of these so called cooks who by the way make over $20.00 and hour and are unionized. I was constantly shut down when I would explain the inadequacies of the food service department. One administrator told me that anyone can cook and they should all be able to do the job. This was a total disconnect and lack of appreciation for a red seal chef. The residents suffer and lose weight, the menus are deplorable and look disgusting. Some one should have a serious look at this environment. However we all know they wont and don’t care.