by
Nancy Ryerson, Staff Writer | January 18, 2013
From the January 2013 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
A buffet at John Muir Health.
John Muir Health
Location: Walnut Creek, Calif.
Sustainable since: 2008 when the facility signed the Healthy Food in Health Care.
Accolades and awards: Winner of the HFHC Food, Climate, Health Connection Award in 2011.
Sample dish: Whole grain casserole with mixed vegetables and roasted squash.
Food service highlights: Chefs, hospital staff and administrators are all on board with the hospital’s sustainable mission, Sandra Rigney, director of nutrition services says. “I think it takes the entire team to make it happen,” she says. The team started out by seeking locally sourced produce, switching to eggs from cage-free hens and bringing in eco-friendly disposables. Next, it reduced the amount of meat on its menus and incorporated more fruits and vegetables. The hospital has found that planning menus around in-season vegetables and fruits, like persimmons for winter, helps keep eco-friendly food affordable. When it does serve meat, many of the dishes are made with free-range, organic chicken. The hospital is currently seeking a source for sustainable beef.
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Anders Grant, RD helps find
sustainable farms for Carroll
Hospital Center.
Carroll Hospital Center
Location: Westminster, Md.
Sustainable since: 2007 when the facility took the Healthy Food in Health Care Balanced Menu pledge.
Accolades and awards: Winner of the HFHC Food, Climate, Health Connection Award in 2011.
Sample dish: Shepherd’s pie using local, sustainable beef.
Food service highlights: Members of the hospital’s food sustainability committee scout out farms to find sources for meat and produce. Committee member Anders Grant, RD is currently on the hunt for a sustainable goat cheese farmer. “We want to make sure that what they say lines up with what they’re really doing,” says Grant. She says that while the sustainable food she finds is generally more expensive than the hospital’s former selections, it’s not too hard to make small changes that result in cost savings. Instead of offering carved
