All 11 NYC Public Hospitals Are Now Serving Plant-based Meals to Patients!
“NYC Health + Hospitals today announced it is now offering plant-based dishes as the primary dinner option for inpatients at all of its 11 public hospitals. NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, Harlem, and South Brooklyn Health joined the system’s other acute care sites serving 14 new, tasty “chef’s choice” meals to hospitalized patients. The meals are inspired by the flavors of Latin America, Asia, and other places that represent the system’s diverse patient population. NYC Health + Hospitals serves 3 million meals a year, and the system expects to serve about 850,000 plant-based meals in 2023. NYC Health + Hospitals plans to expand the plant-based menu options to its five post-acute care facilities in early 2023. The plant-based lunch and dinner programs at NYC Health + Hospitals expand on the health care system’s successful ‘Meatless Monday’ initiative launched in 2019, in collaboration with then-Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, which resulted in a 95 percent satisfaction rate among eligible patients.
“Healthy food is medicine that all New Yorkers should have access to,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “This is personal to me — a plant-based lifestyle helped save my life, and I’m thrilled that now all NYC Health + Hospitals are now serving plant-based dinners as the primary option. This nation-leading program means over 850,000 plant-based meals will be served annually at NYC Health + Hospitals, putting all of our patients on a path to a healthier life.”