One of the major goals of The Scarborough Hospital’s ReFRESHing our Menu project is to raise awareness of the importance of fresh, local food in institutional settings. Two recent presentations at Sustain Ontario events show how the hospital is achieving this goal.

Sustain Ontario is a province-wide, cross-sectoral alliance that promotes healthy food and farming. On October 27, Sustain Ontario hosted their biennial conference, Bring Food Home, which connects individuals and organizations who are working towards a sustainable food system.

Vice President of Patient Experience Anne Marie Males was a panelist at one of the conference’s workshops which profiled broader public sector organizations that have increased the amount of Ontario food and are affecting change within their institutions.

“Bring Food Home was an excellent opportunity to share the many lessons we’ve already learned from our project and to gain valuable insights from others who are also exploring similar programs within their own organizations,” said Anne Marie.

TSH was also one of the sites included in Sustain Ontario’s September 22 event, City to Country.  This day-long mobile conference featured 12 separate bus tours that explored the challenges and successes of 12 different food programs.

“I personally found it absolutely inspiring to see the commitment of TSH staff and administrators to bringing healthy, local and enjoyable food back into healthcare,” said tour participant Linda Swanston.

For General campus Manager of Nutrition and Food Services Susan Bull, the tour offered an opportunity to have a discussion with an interested group local food champions.

“It was encouraging to have dialogue with such enthusiastic supporters of our initiative who have an appreciation for the challenges we are tackling.”