Better hospital food can help build a healthier healthcare system | Rogers Victor
Hospital food has long been a running joke for its mystery meat, Jell-O and mushy, gray vegetables. Efforts to make it fresher and healthier seem to be gaining momentum. While visiting the Corewell Health Lifestyle and Culinary Medicine Practice in Grand Rapids last week, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that more than 250 U.S. hospitals have signed the Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge , a commitment to more whole-food-based patient meals, with reduced ultra-processed and deep-fried foods, sugary drinks and processed meats. With diet-driven chronic disease now a dominant U.S. health burden, why is a pledge like this even needed? Why do so many hospitals maintain food environments that contradict what they tell patients about health? It doesn’t have to be this way, according to Gerard van Grinsven, former CEO of Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital (HFWB) in Michigan, a pioneer in healthy hospital food. Van Grinsven, with a background in hospitality, was hired in 2006 to develop HFWB as a “Community Center for Wellbeing” that prioritizes nutrition. The hospital menu was rebuilt around freshly prepared food emphasizing vegetables and whole grains. Deep fryers and shortening were out. On-demand 24/7 food service met patients’ needs better while reducing
