A retired senior Northern Health Authority official is convinced hospital food would be different if top managers ate the same food thatsa国际传媒檚 served in their facilities.

sa国际传媒淩ather than health system executives feeding themselves the best catered food available at their meetings while they talk about sa国际传媒榪uality patient-centred care,sa国际传媒� it should be a legal requirement that all of their snacks and catered lunches come directly from the local hospital exactly as it is fed to patients,sa国际传媒� wrote former chief medical health officer David Bowering in a social media post.

He says reliance on what he termed sa国际传媒渃orporate foodsa国际传媒� continues to increase and that healthy, fresh food is increasingly sa国际传媒渂ecoming a distant memory.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淭he better the hospital food gets, the better their own publicly-funded free lunches will taste. Itsa国际传媒檚 called feedback,sa国际传媒� Bowering says of what health executives could be eating.

Adding to his comments in a subsequent interview, Bowering says Northern Health, like other large organizations, is increasingly relying on large food-providing corporations because of cost.

READ MORE:

sa国际传媒淲hat wesa国际传媒檙e seeing is more and more decisions being made by people who are more distant now from the consequences,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淭hey are also increasingly risk-averse,sa国际传媒� he says of large organizations such as Northern Health preferring mass-produced processed-food.

Locally-sourced food through local growers and suppliers throughout the region, however, would add to food freshness, quality and healthier options, Bowering adds.

He does acknowledge the challenges of providing food through the wide variety of Northern Healthsa国际传媒檚 facilities located across a large swath of the province.

However, he says itsa国际传媒檚 not impossible sa国际传媒� on Haida Gwaii, Northern Health patients are offered fresh-caught fish.

sa国际传媒淲hatsa国际传媒檚 needed is a long-term vision,sa国际传媒� says Bowering of an effort to marry local food with that provided by large corporations.

In response, Northern Healthsa国际传媒檚 Eryn Collins says that when the authoritysa国际传媒檚 executives do meet in its various facilities, their food is catered directly from the kitchens at those facilities.

sa国际传媒淪o they are eating whatsa国际传媒檚 on the menu,sa国际传媒� she says.

READ MORE:

Collins describes health care facility food services as complex and challenging in that patient meals can depend upon individual dietary requirements tied to their individual medical conditions.

sa国际传媒淎t Mills Memorial Hospital [in Terrace], for instance, meals are prepared from scratch in their kitchens,sa国际传媒� says Collins.

sa国际传媒淭here are a variety of items prepared for each meal,sa国际传媒� she says in adding Northern Health does use food thatsa国际传媒檚 been frozen.

And while Northern Health does strive to meet a provincially-mandated target that 30 per cent of the food prepared is sourced locally, Collins says the definition of sa国际传媒榣ocalsa国际传媒� can be interpreted as food from within B.C.

sa国际传媒淲e do have challenges due to the size of the region,sa国际传媒� she notes.

Still, most recent reports indicate Northern Healthsa国际传媒檚 food is now 19 per cent local, up from a previous level of 16 per cent.

sa国际传媒淲e continue to look at ways to improve within the challenges and constraints we have,sa国际传媒� says Collins.

READ MORE: