Food. The New Medicine?

We all know the saying, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Is it true? Perhaps partly. Healthy foods can help us to prevent disease, maintain health and even fight illness. We all need food to survive, and in a hospital that's likely to be even more so. Hospital food though is something that's been getting a lot of attention these days. Some of it's peaches and cream, and the rest like stinky cheese.

Employees at a hospital in Montreal have completed a national study on hospital food, and found most hospitals put aside about 1% of their budget, or about $8 per patient per day for food. One day typically includes three meals, two snacks and beverages. Consider the local price of milk, and the three or so suggested 250ml servings a day for several of the age groups in the food guide. It's about $1.50 gone there. We've only accounted for a couple drinks, let alone any food. So maybe it's time to look at where priorities lie. Bev Oda's single $16 orange juice could have equalled a hospital days worth of food and drink for two people. Obviously a bigger budget can mean higher quality and more nutritious choices, but it isn't always feasible. So why can't we spend more money? It's no shocker our healthcare is in a bit of a crisis when it comes to dollars. When the Timmy's shop was put into operation in the HSC back in 1995 it was expected to bring in a revenue equal to the loss experiences last year. Roughly $250 000. It's been reported that employees who serve the coffee are being paid close to $20 per hour, and if you include benefits it's closer to $28. (Obviously this isn't the single reason for healthcare curtailing, but a potential contributor). It might be good thing for our wallets now that the hospital cafeteria and Timmy's will be a private enterprise as money can be spent elsewhere. On the other hand with privatization, the likelihood of an economical French fry being swapped for veggie sticks to me would seem much more bleak.  

So it's just not us that's having problems with food, but rather everywhere. A UK hospital patient apparently has been so appalled by the quality of food that he's taken photos of the meals and posted them online. What's interesting is his blog allows people to guess the dish, and shocking is so far his followers have correctly identified half of the meals on his so-called 'bingo board' blog of hospital fare.

There's always more than one solution to any dilemma. Talks of a 'hospital food revolution' here in Canada that see patients getting tasty, nutritious food from local sources is sweeping the country. Farm to Cafeteria Canada is in initiative working to get more local food activities happening in hospitals, schools, and universities, and to develop a network to help institutions access local food. Another, perhaps simpler initiative some hospitals are trying in order to mend service is by offering patients choice. True, budget is a limiting factor, but by empowering people with choice – surely that can make a difference in several areas. Patient satisfaction and quantity of food consumed, ultimately leading to less wastage and therefore better quality of food served. After all, it's estimated that as much as 30% of hospital food is thrown out. 

Remember what Hippocrates famously stated? “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

As seen in The Telegram July 9, 2012