The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services want hospitals to take a voluntary step toward serving healthier food to their patients.
The “Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge” unveiled this week is the latest in Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s and other health officials’ emphasis on nutrition as a factor in chronic disease prevention and general long-term wellness.
Though voluntary, it follows concrete commitments the administration has scored from dozens of educational institutions to bring nutrition into the medical curriculum.
“Patients recovering from serious medical conditions deserve better than ultra-processed and deep-fried junk foods,” Kennedy said in HHS’ announcement of the pledge. “President Trump has directed HHS to put real food at the center of American health. Today, we’re challenging hospitals across the country to lead by example by serving nutritious, minimally processed meals that help patients heal, reduce chronic disease, and help Make America Healthy Again.”
HHS began pointing hospitals in this direction back in March, when CMS issued a Quality and Safety Special Alert Memo underscoring Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoP) that require in-house or contracted food delivery “in accordance with recognized dietary practices.” Recommendations included in the memo were in line with HHS and the Department of Agriculture’s overhauled dietary guidelines, which discourage “ultraprocessed” foods and prioritize foods with proteins, healthy fats and whole grains.
The Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge hits each of those beats with additional commitments to eliminate deep-fried foods, “limit” sugar-sweetened beverages and broadly wind down foods high in added sugars, sodium or other artificial additives.
Doing so will help hospitals “improve patient outcomes, reduce complications, and promote healthier communities long after patients leave their care,” according to the pledge’s website.
“Hospitals should nourish patients with the same commitment they bring to every other aspect of care,” CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, M.D., said in the pledge announcement. “That’s why we’re challenging hospitals to limit ultra-processed foods, feature nutritious meals that promote healing and lead the way in delivering prevention-first, whole-person care.”
Outside of a “farm-to-hospital” food sourcing initiative at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital that officials highlighted back in March, HHS has not named any other hospitals that have made similar voluntary healthy food commitments. The webpage for HHS’ new hospital pledge does not display the names of any organizations that have signed on.
Still, nutrition advocacy has been a spot of agreement between Kennedy and a broader healthcare provider community that has vehemently criticized his other priorities, such as changes to childhood vaccine schedules. Oz has also been upfront about his agency directing “significantly more” of the Rural Health Transformation Fund’s $50 billion to states that heavily featured nutrition education criteria as part of their applications.