Poor diet can contribute to death and disease, including obesity and diabetes, heart disease, learning disabilities, neurological disease, food-borne illnesses and some cancers. Industrialized methods of growing and distributing food contribute to this problem by increasing human exposure to toxic chemicals, heavy metals, pathogens and antibiotic resistant bacteria. These same methods also contaminate ecosystems. Eating nutritious, sustainably grown whole foods, rich in beneficial fats, vitamins and antioxidants can improve human health and enhance environmental quality while improving the economic viability of family farms.
The average U.S. hospital serves more than a million meals per year. Annual hospital food expenditures exceeded $5 billion in 2001 (latest available information), $6 billion when nursing home food purchases are included. Most hospitals not only serve patients and staff but also visitors and the larger community through on-site cafeterias, vending machines and catering services. Given food’s significant role in human health, every food purchase a hospital or nursing home makes has the potential to help accomplish its mission of promoting health and combating or preventing disease.
contents
Introduction
I. Recipes for change
II. Utensils for change
III. Conclusion
Farm to Hospital Case Study No. 1: National Institutes of Health
Farm to Hospital Case Study No. 2: Duke University Medical Center
Farm to Hospital Case Study No. 3: Allen Memorial Hospital
Farm to Hospital Case Study No. 4: Kaiser Permanente
Farm to Hospital Case Study No. 5: Bartels Lutheran Home
Farm to Hospital Case Study No. 6: Fletcher Allen Health Care
Farm to Hospital Case Study No. 7: Cancer Treatment Centers of America
Farm to Hospital Case Study No. 8: Bexar County Community Health Collaborative
References
Download
Healthy Food, Healthy Hospitals, Healthy Communities
