Better Hospital Food

Today, the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) announced that it was committing to the Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge. HCMC is the first public teaching hospital in the country to take the pledge.

The pledge is a voluntary program that helps hospitals take incremental steps toward purchasing more local, sustainable foods. Among other steps, hospitals commit to working with local farmers to try increase the availability of local food, encouraging their vendors to supply food produced without synthetic pesticides, hormones or antibiotics, and minimizing or composting food waste.

More than 200 hospitals nationwide have signed the pledge, a program of Health Care Without Harm (IATP is a founding member). IATP's Marie Kulick has been leading the effort to get Midwest hospitals on board. A 2008 Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) report provides case studies on what individual hospitals are doing to source local and sustainable food.

"Hennepin's pledge supports local farmers, and by keeping dollars in the community, it strengthens our fast-growing local food system overall," says IATP President Jim Harkness in a HCWH press release.

Expect to hear about more hospitals signing the pledge soon.