Last updated on January 16th, 2025
With RSV, norovirus, and COVID cases raging, hospitals are seeing an increase in admissions this winter. Although the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) predicts that admissions will be lower than average this year, housing and healing sick patients requires a holistic view of medicine.
While hospital food has long endured a reputation for being bland, uninspiring, and even detrimental to patient health, it doesn’t have to be that way. Healthcare environments, specifically hospitals, are focused on improving the variety of their menu selections. A letter to the editor in Clinical Nutrition predicted that 50% of hospitals will have healthier food for staff, patients, and their families by 2025.
Now that 2025 is here, we hope you aim to provide patients with nourishing, enjoyable meals that support their recovery and overall well-being. This shift isn’t merely about improving taste; it’s about recognizing food as medicine — something we know to be accurate at Culinary Services Group.
If you’re looking for ideas on how to make your hospital menu more hospitable to the stomachs of every patient and guest, we’re explaining some ways to improve your patient’s dining experience in 2025.
Breaking free from the traditional hospital food paradigm
Not many people look forward to a hospital visit because traditional hospital food doesn’t make their stay more appealing. Unfortunately, this stereotype can have a negative impact on the overall environment for patients, guests, and Press Ganey survey results. Additionally, it’s important to note that the use of convenience foods or offering minimal menu selections, can adversely affect your patients’ recovery.
An article from A Voice for Choice Advocacy summarizes the impact of the food patients consume during a hospital stay: “In fact, nutrition is a neglected tool in hospital facilities, yet has the ability to accelerate recovery, prevent chronic disease, and decrease mortality and morbidity rates.”
Personalized nutrition is central to patient-centered care
The first step to shifting the nutrition narrative in hospitals? Breaking away from the “one-size-fits-all” menu paradigm and dismantling the hierarchy that brushes providing quality food off as an unimportant task.
Instead, we look at dietary needs as the foundation of a positive healthcare experience — especially in residential or short-term stay settings. Liberalized diets recognize that each patient has unique nutritional needs and preferences within person-centered dining. These types of meal plans involve:
- Collaborating with registered dietitians and other nutrition staff to create individualized meal plans that take into account a patient’s medical condition, dietary restrictions, and personal preferences
- Understanding the role specific nutrients play in healing and recovery for individual patients
- Educating patients and their families about their specific dietary needs and how to integrate them into meals at home (so they can continue healthy eating at home)
Room service, reimagined
In addition to personalized meal plans, many hospitals are now implementing room service-style dining — allowing patients to order meals from a menu at their convenience, much like they would in a hotel. While this requires planning and effort on the staff’s part, it can
- Increase patient and resident satisfaction
- Ensure meals are delivered fresh and at the optimal temperature
- Reduce food waste, increasing sustainability and decreasing budget
Most importantly, room service-style dining also gives patients a sense of control and autonomy during their hospital stay, which can benefit their mental and emotional well-being.
Technology, such as mobile apps and tablets, can also streamline the ordering process and make it easier for patients to access menus and place orders. Last year, the Culinary Services Group team made an effort to integrate user-friendly technology into our meal plans. Since then, our food service management program has helped hospitals create a more efficient patient experience.
Nourishing snacks help promote prioritizing dietary needs between meals
Snack time: something you don’t typically think about as part of your hospital experience. If you do or have unfortunately had a recent stay in the hospital, you’ll know that your options are often limited to vending machines, or the regular food served in the cafeteria.
On top of that, some food is only accessible during certain hours of the day. As we all know, hospital patients often operate on a different schedule than they would in daily life, meaning their mealtimes may be skewed depending on their treatment.
To address this, hospitals focused on reimagining their food service are starting to offer a wider variety of healthy snacks between meals. While this might seem revolutionary, it’s actually simple to integrate.
Instead of relying on bags of chips or sweets, snack options like fresh fruit, yogurt, whole-grain crackers, nuts, and protein bars (plus a few guilty pleasure options) not only add diversity to a patient’s food consumption during their stay but also help them maintain stable blood sugar levels and prevent dehydration, benefiting their overall health.
Snack time is particularly significant for those who have difficulty eating large meals or require additional calories and nutrients. Snacks can also be tailored to specific needs, such as providing high-protein options for wound healing or easily digestible snacks for those with nausea.
To make things even more convenient for patients and their families, snacks can be provided in patient rooms, common areas, or even through a dedicated snack cart that makes rounds throughout the hospital.
Giving patients the quality, comfort food experience they deserve
While healthy eating is crucial for patient recovery, it’s also important to acknowledge the emotional benefits of a comfortable food experience. While serving foods such as chicken noodle soup, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese might initially come to mind, creating this experience is as simple as providing patients with a sense of comfort and familiarity during their hospital stay.
At Culinary Services Group, these things are all a part of our mission, which is focused on improving the quality of life for those we serve. Whether that’s in residential care or a hospital setting, we’re dedicated to helping our partners shift towards a more patient-centered approach, with healthier food choices and a more comfortable environment at the center of their dining experience.
Schedule a time to talk with one of our team members today to start your hospital’s journey toward improving dining.
