Down with overcooked vegetables, hospital food is getting better
Eleven hospitals have promised that they will serve healthier and better food to patients and visitors. From 2022 onward, only fresh meals will be on the menu, soft drinks will be banned and vegetables cooked to mush will be nowhere to be found.
Gelderse Vallei Hospital in Ede is leading the way when it comes to healthy and delicious food in your hospital bed. There, meals can be ordered à la carte, whenever and in whatever quantities people want. The hospital has also calculated that this excellent meal service is no more expensive than the overcooked vegetables normally served in hospitals. Less food is thrown away, which makes a considerable difference.
Bring a bag of groceries
Other hospitals are now following the good example set by the hospital in Ede. Visitors to the hospital will have to get used to the changes too. Soft-drink and candy machines are being removed, and less or no salt is being used in the food. The sausage roll and hot chocolate have not been completely banished from the hospital, but the nutrition experts hope that people will choose something healthy more often if those products are made more visible. People can also take a bag of healthy groceries and recipes home with them when they are discharged.
Food, drink and hospitality
People who eat healthily recover more quickly, Eline Vermeulen explains to NOS. She is the manager of food, drink and hospitality at Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital in Tilburg. ‘Traditionally, medical care consists of an operation, medication and good bedside care. Food and drink have been added to that, because they contribute to our patients’ recovery and well-being.’
In 2030: everyone!
The healthy hospital meals are part of the National Prevention Agreement, the government programme aimed at improving the health of many Dutch people. By 2030, all hospitals should mainly provide healthy, fresh and delicious food.
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Source: NOS.nl
