Hospital Caterers Association - 2009 Week of Excellence
‘Sustainability and Local Purchasing’
Week commencing 26th October 2009
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Ideas, tips and online resources to get you started
Hospital Caterers Association Goes Green For 2009 Campaign
The Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) National Week of Excellence which runs from October 26 -30, focuses this year on Sustainability and Local Purchasing
With more and more of us realising the individual responsibilities we carry to reduce our carbon footprint and the impact on the environment, green issues are becoming ever more prominent across all consumer, business and public sector areas and the focus for all of us is on sustainability, recycling, waste disposal and energy efficiency.
The National Health Service spends around £500 million on food to serve 300 million meals in 1200 hospitals every year*. The sheer volume of NHS food services provides a significant opportunity for the NHS to alter its approach to the sourcing of ingredients and the production of food.
Following on from the success of its previous three promotional events, the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) campaign for 2009 will run from 26-30 October and focus on sustainability and local food procurement. The Association is urging caterers to play a pivotal role in driving forward sustainability and local food procurement in a collective effort to provide healthier food for patients, staff and visitors which, in turn, will support their local communities and help to reduce the NHS’ carbon footprint.
Whilst the past three campaigns have centred around one main promotional Day, this year’s event has been extended to a whole week to allow maximum opportunity for hospitals to promote their green credentials to as wide an audience as possible.
However, the theme of the Week goes further than sustainability of food supply. It is also about taking action to make positive changes which safeguard the environment - from the way the food on the menus is cooked to packaging, recycling and dealing with food waste. The HCA is encouraging hospital caterers to be as creative as possible to not only make a difference to those who use their services on a daily basis but also for the benefit of the environment. Helping to decrease the amount of greenhouse (GHG) emissions caused directly and indirectly by NHS catering activities is a major aim of the Week. By looking at ways that catering staff can make savings to operational costs will also help improve the value for money catering services can offer for the benefit of all throughout the hospital.
In response to the sustainable food agenda, the Department of Health, in conjunction with the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, published “Sustainable food: A guide for hospitals** which was launched at the HCA 2009 Conference in April. The guide provides practical information and advice on what hospitals can do to improve the sustainability of their food service provision The DH and PASA have allowed the HCA to use this best practice guide and any of its content to help caterers promote the HCA National Week in their Trusts and hospitals.
Kevan Wallace, Chairman, Hospital Caterers Association says: “The secret to any success for a sustainable service in the NHS for the future is collaboration with others in the public sector on food procurement. We must remember that between 20 – 30% of the global warming caused by human activity is contributed by our food and agriculture systems. Of the £500 million we spend on producing meals in the NHS per annum, if only 10% were attributed to local purchasing, this will give the British farmer and supplier a £50 million boost to local job creation, reduce carbon foot printing and developing businesses. What an achievement for hospital caterers if we can help make this kind of difference! I urge all hospital caterers to take part and help the HCA’s Week of Excellence count towards a sustainable NHS catering service. We should not under-estimate the role we can play and the subsequent benefit this can have for all of us”.
Supporting the environment - making a difference to everyone’s life
By participating in the HCA’s Week of Excellence, hospitals will be making a significant statement about the value they place on patient wellbeing and their commitment to establishing the very best in healthcare services as well as to protecting the environment.
Hospital caterers can utilise the opportunity of this promotional Week to highlight the good practice that they may already have been putting in place to make their catering services ‘greener’.
Taking part in the Week is free of charge and open to HCA Members and Non-Members. This site also contains information, guidance and online resources to help participants to get started as well as new possibilities to increase their use of sustainable resources (click to view Ideas, tips and online resources).
The aim is for these new actions to become a standard and ongoing part of the range of services hospital caterers provide for patients, visitors and staff in the future. The emphasis is on making real change and ensuring that they are sustained beyond the Week.
To help caterers participate in the campaign, the HCA has provided a range of suggestions and ideas on the HCA website that caterers can implement in order to increase the sustainability of their catering services as well as to expand their green credentials such as by using, where possible, local or British sourced produce as a first option, switching to more environmentally friendly alternative products such as tap water, paying attention to food origins, expanding purchase of Fairtrade products where feasible, avoiding species of fish in danger of extinction, buying seasonal fruit and vegetables, cutting down on superfluous food use such as garnishes to reduce waste, increasing recycling activities and cutting utility bills, for example, by switching off equipment when not in use and repairing dripping taps.
Working towards a sustainable NHS catering service is vital for the future. This year’s Week of Excellence is an important platform upon which hospital caterers can lessen the impact hospital catering services have on the planet as well as providing a healthier, more beneficial environment for patients, visitors and staff.
Ideas, tips and online resources to get you started
* Source: Sustainable development in the NHS www.sdu.nhs.uk
** “Sustainable food: A guide for hospitals” – downloadable from the Department of Health website (www.dh.gov.uk) or from the NHS PASA website (www.pasa.nhs.uk)
- Founded over 60 years ago, The Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) was one of the first professional associations to be formed within the National Health Service. With over 250 NHS hospitals represented in its membership and 17 branches throughout the UK, the HCA network is the single largest group of health care catering providers within the NHS.
- As part of the drive to continually drive standards upwards and to encourage initiatives which enhance NHS catering services, the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) has been proactive over the last five years by running high profile promotional campaigns which have brought about lasting changes. Three national events have been staged - the HCA Protected Mealtimes Day in 2004, the HCA National Day of Choice in 2005 and Serving Excellence – Enhancing Patient Mealtimes in 2007.