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Local Foods in Healthcare: Promoting a Stronger Community

Maintaining health and well-being is a main goal of hospitals and long-term care homes.  Incorporating local foods into healthcare institution menus not only aligns with this mission remarkably but can lead to healthier patients and communities.

Benefits of Local Food Use in Healthcare Institutions

There are lots of benefits to using local foods on the menu in hospitals and long-term care homes. Here are just a few:

          Increased patient satisfaction and nutrition

Studies show that patients are pleased to hear that the ingredients for their meal came from a local farm, and this can have a positive effect on comfort and meal satisfaction ratings.1

Local foods can also provide better nutrition for patients as they are more likely to be fresh. Better nutrition can lead to quicker recovery rates and shorter hospital stays, which can lessen the burden on healthcare systems.

          Stronger support for the provincial economy

Buying local food for healthcare institutions means more business for local food producers and farmers.  It also strengthens relationships between managers in healthcare and local farmers, uniting our community.

          Smaller carbon footprint

Food travels a shorter distance when obtained locally, which reduces fuel use, carbon emissions, and pollution during transport.

 Strategies for Successful Local Food Use

Now that we know why local foods are a great component of healthcare menus, what is being done to encourage and increase local food use in our institutions?

In a 2018 study, Emily Linton and colleagues set out to determine key influences and key strategies for successful local food use in Ontario healthcare institutions.2 They interviewed stakeholders from multiple areas of the food system and revealed practical actions that helped healthcare institutions get more local foods into patient meals.

Here are a few strategies they found were key to success:

          Local food lists

If you were a food service manager looking to purchase local food for the hospital, wouldn’t it be easier if you had a list clearly indicating available local foods?

This is the role of a local food list—to group foods grown or produced in Ontario, all in one place.  Hospitals and long-term care homes can ask their group purchasing organizations (the organizations through which they buy their food items) to update their food product list to include local foods.

          Local frozen produce

Local produce availability can change with the season, but many healthcare institution menus do not.  One solution is local frozen produce, which is available year-round.

           Using in-season produce

Another solution is using produce that is in season, as it often comes at a lower cost.

 Success in the Field: Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care

Local food is being used by healthcare institutions right here in London!

One institution helping set the example is Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care.  They buy fresh, in-season produce from local farmers including sweet corn, field tomatoes, and peaches.  Beef, turkey, bread, eggs, and some dairy products are also purchased locally.

Mount Hope is also partnering with NOURISH, a non-profit organization, on a project to facilitate buying local and managing food waste.

Knowing the benefits, influences, and strategies to implement local food use is crucial for decision-makers in healthcare institutions to accomplish it successfully.  It is important to keep the conversation going to gain new perspectives and innovations to support buying local.

Written by Serenah Jafelice

Painting by Serenah Jafelice

References

  1. Trinca V, Duizer L, Keller H. Putting quality food on the tray: factors associated with patients’ perceptions of the hospital food experience. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2021 Jun 25; 00: 1-13. doi:10.1111/jhn.12929
  2. Linton E, Keller H, Duizer L. Ingredients for success: strategies to support local food use in health care institutions. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2018 Sep 1; 79(3): 113-117. doi:10.3148/cjdpr-2018-008

About the Author:  Serenah Jafelice is a volunteer with the MLFPC. She has a passion for healthy living and volunteers with various community groups and healthcare charities.  She has completed an Honours Specialization in Biology with a Minor in Genetics at Western University.  She is intrigued by the overlap between healthy eating, medicine, and lifestyle.  She loves communicating scientific information in a way that is easy to understand and helps people better their lives.

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Interview with Nadine Castonguay, EnviroWestern Garden Executive and Food System Champion 2021

Nadine Castonguay, EnviroWestern Garden Executive at Western University, was selected as a Food System Champion in 2021.

Recently, Nadine led the development of the community garden located at Western University. She worked with various stakeholders across campus to organize a new and more visible location for the EnviroWestern Garden and took care of the land from watering and weeding to managing student volunteers throughout the summer. You can learn more about her positive impact on the local food system at mlfpc.ca/foodchampions.

Q: What drew you into doing work in the food system?

A: My passions for food and the environment collide. I wanted to create a system on campus to facilitate knowledge generation and dissemination where the community could come to understand the complex dynamics of our food including the links between the economic, social, and environmental elements of how food is sourced.

Q: What do you like most about your food system work?  

A: My favourite part about food system work is the actual production of something that provides us with what we need to sustain human life. It’s crazy that we can produce outputs that contain nutrients that allow us to thrive. I appreciate that without the food system, we would not survive.

Q: What works well in Middlesex London to support your work?

A: I appreciate that there is a growing community of individuals who want to see more organic and locally sourced food available. There is a market of opportunity for new businesses to venture into sustainable agriculture.

Q: Are there local challenges that make your job more difficult?

A: There are significant barriers for new farmers such as increased land prices, the lack of knowledge around the definition of sustainable food production, and what it looks like to have a sustainable food production operation.

Q: What would you like to see in our local community to strengthen our food system?

A: I would like to see a greater emphasis on allowing individuals to grow and produce their own food in the city. For example, having more rooftop gardens, increasing the number of community gardens, and developing agricultural opportunities in neighbourhoods within London.

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Global Food, Local Perspectives: Momos at the Market

For this first segment of our food and culture project, we will be interviewing the owner and chef of Momos at the Market, Yam Gurung. Momo’s at the market serves healthy but delicious traditional Nepalese food at the London Food Incubator and the Western Fair’s Farmers Market. Specializing in Momos (meat or vegetable-filled dumplings), this restaurant has been serving London locals for over 12 years.

Yam, born and raised in Nepal started his culinary journey around the age of 8-9 years old. By age 12, he had left home to start cooking in restaurants and has worked in the food industry ever since. After working in multiple restaurants, Yam felt inspired and motivated to help fellow new immigrants get situated comfortably in Canada. Upon reflection on his own experiences, he wanted to provide new immigrants opportunities that are not always readily available. One essential value for Yam in creating Momos at the market was providing new immigrants with training and adding to their skillset in preparation for future employment. Yam has made it a point to treat his employees with respect, regardless of their cultural background or duration of time in Canada, including fair payment of employees.

Yam’s food philosophy is simple: sell what you eat. He would not sell food that he doesn’t find delicious, meaning you’ll always be in for a treat at Momos. In addition, Yam finds importance in connecting with the community and purchasing ingredients from local producers. Being located at the Western Fair Market and the London Food Incubator has helped Yam connect further with the community. When he began his journey at the Western Fair market, Yam indicated that he didn’t know anyone in the food industry. No one was there to teach him the ropes about the restaurant business. However, through perseverance in pursuit of bringing his homeland’s cuisine to London, he pressed on, and thus we see the Momos at the market we have today.

When asked why it is crucial to learn about other people’s food and culture, Yam replied that that’s how you get to know people. Food in itself is a language, and by trying and understanding people’s food and culture, you build community. At the time of this interview, one dish that Yam was interested in learning is the art of sushi making. We are happy to report Momo’s at the Market is now selling sushi trays for New Years!

As for the future of Momos at the Market, Yam hopes to expand to other markets shortly. The beauty of these markets is that they’re able to display various types of food and cultures. Everyone who sells gets a chance to show and share their food with multiple people who may have never tried these cuisines. Although there might seem like a competition between vendors within these markets, everyone brings something new and unique to the table. 

Yam’s stories about Momos at the market are inspiring and highlight the importance of supporting local vendors and the plentitude of Markets within the Middlesex-London community. The food industry has been hit immensely due to the pandemic. Markets are not only sources of food distribution and foodservice, but they often serve as community centers, education opportunities and, in general, a place of connection. We strongly urge you to show love and support for your local market and vendors as these places keep our community healthy. For a list of markets within the area, you can view our food directory here.