Food: Make the case

Your organization likely has sustainability initiatives with staff leads, committees, and boards that assess opportunities and develop priorities. Identify and engage with these individuals and structures to make the case for how food initiatives can further their goals. Also look for leadership focused on initiatives, policies, and plans for reducing the institution's climate impacts and increasing community resilience – food programs are an excellent way to achieve results on these priorities.  

Consider these talking points for engaging with stakeholders:

Our food system both contributes to and is impacted by environmental degradation. Institutional food purchasing decisions can drive changes in the way our food is produced and processed, and menu design and food resource management in the kitchen can reduce greenhouse gas emissions for food. We know that:

• Food production is responsible for approximately 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The Science Based Targets Initiative estimates we need to reduce emissions from food production by 67% by 2050 in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. Livestock production is responsible for approximately 14.5%, and wasted food for roughly 8%, of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Numerous studies have found farmworkers are at elevated risk for cancer, likely due to pesticide and sun exposure. Pesticide exposure is also implicated in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, as well as various disorders of the respiratory and reproductive tracts.
• The rise of antibiotic-resistant infections, which impact more than 2.8 million people and kill at least 35,000 people in the United States each year, has been linked to overuse and misuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture.
   

Food solutions can be a powerful asset to your organization, supporting community health and wealth through purchasing, contracting, and programs. Consult with your supply chain and procurement departments to identify aligned priorities for utilizing diverse and local vendors including farmers, fishers, food manufacturers, and other food businesses.

Consider these talking points for engaging with stakeholders:

• Supporting local and regional food systems can address these interrelated, complex issues by giving communities greater control over food production, providing jobs and opportunities, and increasing access to healthy, fresh foods.
• Black farmers make up only 1.4% of farmers in the United States today due to a legacy of systemic racism limiting access to land, resources, education, and ultimately markets for their products. Directing health care food purchasing to food and farm businesses owned by people of color can help build economic development and generational wealth.
• Local foods can have positive health impacts – one study found the nutrient content of broccoli was cut in half when it was purchased out-of-season from national markets compared to when it was sourced locally while in season.

Providing healthy food access through food service and community food initiatives and addressing food insecurity as a social determinant of health in clinical care has profound impacts on health and well-being. HR and employee wellness programs can leverage cafeteria and campus health food access initiatives to achieve their wellness goals. Hospital community benefit departments identify community health needs and work with community partners to implement collaborative solutions to address food insecurity and diet related disease, presenting powerful partnership opportunities for food service sustainability initiatives. 

Consider these talking points for engaging with stakeholders:

• A poor diet contributes to four out of 10 of the leading causes of death in the United States.
• One in 10 people in the United States experiences food insecurity.
• Poor nutrition and diet-related conditions affect academic achievement and worker productivity. 
• Food insecurity affects mental health, contributing to anxiety and depression. Low wages for food chain workers undermine their ability to access healthy food.
   

Food service operations and food initiatives that prioritize patient, community, and planetary health can increase patient satisfaction, reduce health care costs, increase revenue by drawing in more patrons to your eating establishments, and attract and retain a valued workforce.  

Consider these talking points for engaging with stakeholders:

• An estimated 85% of health care costs are associated with management of diet-related conditions. The federal government alone spends $160 billion on diabetes care and management, which is more than the budgets for multiple agencies including USDA, EPA, FDA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice. 
• Healthier diets, including the consumption of plant proteins, could save $50 billion in health care costs.
• Plant-forward menus can lead to increased patient and employee satisfaction – 83% of diners in hospitals say they would choose plant-forward options at least sometimes.
• $218 billion is spent on food that is never eaten. Food waste source reduction efforts create savings that can be invested in local, sustainable, and diverse purchasing.
• More than 60% of millennials are intentionally looking for employers whose sense of corporate responsibility matches their own.