A retired senior Northern Health Authority official is convinced hospital food would be different if top managers ate the same food that乌鸦传媒檚 served in their facilities.

乌鸦传媒淩ather than health system executives feeding themselves the best catered food available at their meetings while they talk about 乌鸦传媒榪uality patient-centred care,乌鸦传媒� it should be a legal requirement that all of their snacks and catered lunches come directly from the local hospital exactly as it is fed to patients,乌鸦传媒� wrote former chief medical health officer David Bowering in a social media post.

He says reliance on what he termed 乌鸦传媒渃orporate food乌鸦传媒� continues to increase and that healthy, fresh food is increasingly 乌鸦传媒渂ecoming a distant memory.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淭he better the hospital food gets, the better their own publicly-funded free lunches will taste. It乌鸦传媒檚 called feedback,乌鸦传媒� Bowering says of what health executives could be eating.

Adding to his comments in a subsequent interview, Bowering says Northern Health, like other large organizations, is increasingly relying on large food-providing corporations because of cost.

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乌鸦传媒淲hat we乌鸦传媒檙e seeing is more and more decisions being made by people who are more distant now from the consequences,乌鸦传媒� he said.

乌鸦传媒淭hey are also increasingly risk-averse,乌鸦传媒� he says of large organizations such as Northern Health preferring mass-produced processed-food.

Locally-sourced food through local growers and suppliers throughout the region, however, would add to food freshness, quality and healthier options, Bowering adds.

He does acknowledge the challenges of providing food through the wide variety of Northern Health乌鸦传媒檚 facilities located across a large swath of the province.

However, he says it乌鸦传媒檚 not impossible 乌鸦传媒� on Haida Gwaii, Northern Health patients are offered fresh-caught fish.

乌鸦传媒淲hat乌鸦传媒檚 needed is a long-term vision,乌鸦传媒� says Bowering of an effort to marry local food with that provided by large corporations.

In response, Northern Health乌鸦传媒檚 Eryn Collins says that when the authority乌鸦传媒檚 executives do meet in its various facilities, their food is catered directly from the kitchens at those facilities.

乌鸦传媒淪o they are eating what乌鸦传媒檚 on the menu,乌鸦传媒� she says.

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Collins describes health care facility food services as complex and challenging in that patient meals can depend upon individual dietary requirements tied to their individual medical conditions.

乌鸦传媒淎t Mills Memorial Hospital [in Terrace], for instance, meals are prepared from scratch in their kitchens,乌鸦传媒� says Collins.

乌鸦传媒淭here are a variety of items prepared for each meal,乌鸦传媒� she says in adding Northern Health does use food that乌鸦传媒檚 been frozen.

And while Northern Health does strive to meet a provincially-mandated target that 30 per cent of the food prepared is sourced locally, Collins says the definition of 乌鸦传媒榣ocal乌鸦传媒� can be interpreted as food from within B.C.

乌鸦传媒淲e do have challenges due to the size of the region,乌鸦传媒� she notes.

Still, most recent reports indicate Northern Health乌鸦传媒檚 food is now 19 per cent local, up from a previous level of 16 per cent.

乌鸦传媒淲e continue to look at ways to improve within the challenges and constraints we have,乌鸦传媒� says Collins.

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