Health care organizations nationwide are offering healthier menus, working with farmers to purchase locally and sustainably grown products, reducing the amount of meat they purchase and serve, and going beyond their walls to help meet the food needs of their community, all in an effort to support the health of their patients, staff, surrounding community and the environment.
Practice Greenhealth member hospitals are making these changes by engaging in activities that support the modeling of healthier, more sustainable food choices for patients, employees, and visitors.
Systems and individual facilities are opening new market pathways by maximizing purchasing power to increase the availability of local, sustainable foods within the hospital and by extension, in the community and by leveraging programming and investments they are addressing social and environmental determinants of health by increasing healthy food access for patients, staff, and visitors.
Finally, hospitals are saving money by reducing food waste and stewarding natural resources. All of these efforts support the creation of healthy, sustainable and equitable food systems for the communities in which our hospital members operate.
Application contents and questions are subject to change each year. This sample is taken from the 2019 Environmental Excellence Awards Partner for Change application for facilities with overnight beds and operating rooms.
