Implementing Healthy and Sustainable Food Practices in a Hospital Cafeteria: A Qualitative Look at Processes, Barriers, and Facilitators of Implementation

Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices and Sustainable Performance in Hospitals: A Systematic Review and Integrative Framework

“…High-fat processed food, the use of non-nutritive additives, meat produced using antibiotics and hormones, obesity, antibiotic resistance, diabetes, cancer, food waste, and pollution caused by food transport are among the problems that current food systems face [88,89,91,92]. Hospitals have the potential to impact sustainability by addressing food issues, given their role as intermediaries in the market, their buying power, their responsibility for the promotion of proper nutritional habits, and the large number of people who frequent these organizations, between patients, visitors, employees, and the community [93].…”

Perceptions of Local Hospitals and Food Producers on Opportunities for and Barriers to Implementing Farm-to-Hospital Programs

“…Direct marketing arrangements, such as farmers markets and community-supported agriculture (CSA), are reviving working partnerships between food producers and food consumers. Building on these initiatives, local farmers are now connecting with schools, local restaurants, grocery stores, and other institutions (Dauner et al, 2011).…”

“…The health care system is emerging as a significant leader in developing relationships between healthy, sustainable food systems and healthy communities. Increasingly, health care facilities are choosing to model healthy food choices and environments as they engage in farm-to-hospital programs (Cohen, 2006;Dauner et al, 2011). Onsite farmers markets and stands are being implemented in hospitals across the country in order to better serve patients, staff, and the wider community (Kulick, 2005), and are already demonstrating positive health impacts.…”

“…Dauner and her colleagues explored barriers and opportunities in using and procuring local foods in health care settings, in a study consisting of 25 semi-structured interviews with individuals in food acquisition, preparation, and service. Barriers included meeting quantity demands, restrictions due to contracts with group purchasing organizations (GPO), and lack of human, physical, and financial resources necessary to procure and prepare local-food ingredients from multiple producers and distributors (Dauner et al, 2011). A survey of 105 Ohio hospital food service directors (Raison & Scheer, 2015) identified similar challenges to incorporating local foods into meals.…”

“…For example, opportunities identified by Dauner and her colleagues included food purchasing and preparation based on shared responsibility, effective communication, and teamwork (2011). Organization and community support for using locally grown foods, along with interest and commitment of food managers, were also identified as opportunities or facilitators of change (Dauner et al, 2011). Further supporting community-wide commitment as an opportunity in farm-to-hospital initiatives, Conner and his colleagues (2014) specifically explored the impact of shared values among farmers, distributors, and institutions in facilitating farm-to-institution (FTI) efforts.…”