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New “Toolkit” for Planning, Tracking and Benchmarking Your Healthy Food Progress

Reston, VA — The Healthy Food in Health Care Program announces the release of the Green Guide for Health Care Food Service Credits Toolkit. This new planning and benchmarking suite offers templates, tools and tracking sheets to support hospital food service departments in utilizing the Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC) Food Service Credits to plan, implement and track their progress towards achieving sustainable operations in their facilities. Utilization of the Toolkit will also enable hospitals to compile and share actual data on their sustainability-related food service achievements to the general public, media and other interested parties. The Toolkit and related resources can be found on the Planning and Benchmarking page of the Healthy Food in Health Care Website.

Included in the GGHC Food Service Credits Toolkit:

• Sustainable Food Service Status Report Tracking Sheet
• Sustainable Food Service Action Plan Template and Sample
• Sustainable Food Education & Promotion Tracking Sheet
• Local/Sustainable Food Procurement Tracking Sheet
• Non-Reusable Serviceware & Non-Serviceware Procurement Tracking Sheet
• Hospital Supported Agriculture / Food & Farm Linkages Tracking Sheet
• Food Service Waste Reduction Tracking Sheet
• Food Service Recycling Tracking Sheet
• Food Service Vendors Sustainability Achievement Tracking Sheet
• Sustainability Terms Sheet

Green Guide for Health Care
The Green Guide for Health Care is a best practices guide for healthy and sustainable building design, construction, and operations for the healthcare industry. In 2007 the Healthy Food in Health Care (HFHC) team worked with the GGHC to develop a set of guidance (Credits) for hospital food service to support development and tracking of sustainable operations in their departments. The Food Service section includes eight credits to help you plan and track your HFHC work. You can earn between 1-3 points for each credit you complete for a maximum total of 20 points in this self-certifying program.

Healthy Food in Health Care Program
The Healthy Food in Health Care Program is a national initiative of Health Care Without Harm, developed in conjunction with member organizations, that works with hospitals across the country to help improve the sustainability of their food services. Founded in 2005, the program provides education, tools, resources, and support to health care facilities making the connection between the health of their patients, staff and community and the food they serve. Ultimately the program works to support hospitals in leveraging their purchasing power and health expert status to promote a healthier food system. By purchasing foods that are produced, processed and transported in ways that are protective of public and environmental health, hospitals can make a profound difference in the market and in the food settings of the people they serve.

Coming Soon... The Healthy Food in Health Care Annual Awards Program

For several years, the Healthy Food in Health Care Program has conducted an annual survey to benchmark the amazing work going on in hospital food service departments across the nation. Through the information gathered we are able to capture stories and strategies to guide and inspire the sector. This year we are launching the Annual Healthy Food in Health Care Awards Program. The Survey and Awards Application will be released late May 2011. In addition to use at the facility level, the Toolkit is a critical resource in helping to generate data on sustainable food initiatives to report to the Healthy Food in Health Care Program for the Annual Survey and for HFHC Awards consideration. So stay tuned…

Acknowledgments
The Healthy Food in Health Care Initiative is led by a team of representatives from the following HCWH member groups: Ecology Center, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Institute for a Sustainable Future, Healthlink, Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment, San Francisco Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, Vermont Fresh, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Women’s Health and Environmental Network.

Special thanks to the following individuals for development of the Toolkit: Emma Sirois, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility; Marie Kulick, Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy; Roberta Anderson, Food Alliance; Gretchen Miller, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility; and Dianne Moore, Women's Health and Environmental Network. Thanks also to the following individuals for review and comments on the Toolkit: Jamie Harvie, Institute for a Sustainable Future; Hillary Bisnett, Ecology Center; Alyssa Nathanson, Vermont Fresh.

Heath Care without Harm, an international coalition of more than 500 organizations in 53 countries, is working to transform the health care sector, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. To learn more about HCWH's work, visit our website at www.noharm.org, our YouTube channel at HCwithoutharm, and our twitter feed at hcwithoutharm.