New England's Nutrition Month Bears Fruit
This year for Nutrition Month, Nourished by New England, a regional initiative of the Healthy Food in Health Care program, challenged healthcare facilities across New England to think about the ways in which buying local supports the health of their communities—and they rose to the occasion!
Forty facilities from Northern Maine to Southern Rhode Island served local carrots, apples, leafy greens and haddock over 160 times throughout the month. Facilities spent an average of $478 on these local food items generating over $23,000 in sales for farmers and fisherman in the region.
Foodservice operations did more than purchase and serve local food: they showed their creativity and passion for healthy, local foods.
Cary Medical Center in Caribou, Maine celebrated by serving local carrots from Northern Girl. Additionally, through the work of Bill Flagg, Marketing Director, Cary Medical Center made a donation of $1,000 to ensure that students in Aroostook County can eat local carrots too.
Heywood Hospital in Gardner, Massachusetts celebrated by providing weekly education about healthy eating for all staff and visitors. Kristine Berube, RD, LDN and John Nowak, Director of Food Services partnered during the last Wednesday of the month to focus on the connection between local and healthy food. They served local haddock, and kale and carrots from Brookside Family Farm.
Other Nutrition Month participants included:
- Baystate Health Eastern Region
- Baystate Medical Center
- Blue Hill Memorial Hospital
- Boston Children’s Hospital
- Bridgeport Hospital
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Cary Medical Center
- Cooley Dickinson Hospital
- Dartmouth College
- Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
- Eastern Maine Medical Center
- Elmhurst Extended Care
- Grace Cottage
- HealthAlliance Hospital
- Heywood Hospital
- Huggins Hospital
- Lincoln Health
- LRGHealthcare
- Maine Medical Center
- Maine General Medical Center
- Manchester VAMC
- Nashoba Valley Medical Center
- New England Baptist Hospital
- New London Hospital
- New Milford Hospital
- Newport Hospital
- Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital
- Our Lady Fatima
- Pillsbury Senior Communities
- Porter Hospital
- Portsmouth Regional Hospital
- Roger Williams Medical Center
- South County Hospital
- Southwestern Vermont Medical Center
- The Park Danforth
- UMass Memorial Medical Center
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System
- VA Medical Center White River Junction, VT
- Wake Robin
- Women and Infants Hospital
- Yale-New Haven Hospital
Jen Obadia is the Eastern Region Director of Health Care Without Harm's Healthy Food in Health Care program.
