The Coalition for Plant-Based Foods in Hospitals, composed of Oldways, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Health Care Without Harm, The Humane Society of the United States, and Meatless Monday, has produced new videos showing the free resources each member offers to help US hospitals increase plant-based meals. Founded in 2020, the coalition’s goal is to improve patient and staff health by increasing plant-based meals in hospital food service offerings. The videos highlight how hospitals can have an impact on the healthcare system by embracing plant-based menus for patient health and environmental sustainability.
Each member offers unique services to aid hospitals in increasing vegan meals, highlighting the health and environmental benefits of plant-based meals and the critical role hospitals play in affecting dietary change. Oldways offers a toolkit with 40+ dietitian-created recipes and additional guidance for adding plant-based meal options. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has free recipes and educational materials. The Humane Society of the United States offers virtual culinary training sessions, marketing materials, menu evaluations and greenhouse gas assessments.
Sharon Palmer, the spokesperson of Oldways, said, “In our video, I introduce Oldways Plant Forward Plates Healthcare Toolkit. It provides 40+ dietitian-created recipes, menus, ordering guides, and additional guidance for adding 100% plant-based meal options to hospital menus.” Anna Herby of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, said, “Our video describes how our prevention through nutrition can be a part of every hospital’s menu. We have free recipes and educational materials to share with any hospital interested in making menu changes.” Karla Dumas of the Humane Society of the United States, said, “Our video describes free virtual culinary nutrition workshops for healthcare professionals, identifying strategies that empower hospital food service providers to add more plants to their patient and staff/visitor menus.”
