This section includes resources that may be useful for foodservice operations in hospitals and other health care facilities (e.g. nursing homes) or assisted living communities with medical staff. This page is continuously updated as resources are identified; unsolicited submissions of links for inclusion on this page are not considered. Links are provided for information only and should not be construed as endorsements by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), the Prairie Research Institute, or the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
General Resources
- Explore the “Hospitals” category of this web site’s blog.
- Practice Greenhealth–How Hospitals are Preventing and Optimizing Leftover Food
- Best Practices: How hospitals can waste less food (Modern Healthcare article by Maureen McKinney, July 4, 2015; free site registration may be required for access)
- Healthcare Environmental Resource Center–Landscaping and Food Waste
- Unity Point Health Systems, Iowa (Iowa Waste Reduction Center case study)
- IFSCC: Composting for Institutions
Cafeterias & Dining Rooms
- Many of the resources and suggested activities suggested for K-12 schools on this web site might also be applicable to cafeteria settings in hospitals and other health care facilities (e.g. nursing homes) or assisted living communities with medical staff. Begin by exploring the “Suggested Activities” in the K-12 section of this web site.
Contact the Ilinois Sustainable Technology Center’s Technical Assistance Program for help with applying principles in that section to your situation, or for additional guidance. You can email istc-info@illinois.edu for general inquiries. To schedule a site visit, see https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/9191780.
- Senior living center’s dining approach reduces waste, food cost (Food Management article by Mike Buzalka, June 10, 2019)
- Webinar Recording: IL Hospitals Recovering Wasted Food & Composting (Seven Generations Ahead, January 15, 2019; see also a PDF of slides from the presentation)
- Webinar Recording: IL Institutions Reduce Wasted Food and Compost (Seven Generations Ahead, 12/10/18; see also a PDF of slides from the presentation)
Food Served in Patient Rooms
- Hospital Wastes a Third Less Food After This One Change (Forbes article by Dana Gunders, February 18, 2019)