RFK Jr. extends MAHA push to hospital food

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Monday that over 250 hospitals have signed a pledge to serve healthier meals to patients, advancing his “ Make America Healthy Again ” (MAHA) agenda’s focus on treating food as medicine.

Speaking at a press conference hosted at the Corewell Health Lifestyle and Culinary Medicine Practice in Grand Rapids, Mich., Kennedy said he expects improvements in patient satisfaction, citing hospitals that have already launched similar changes.

“We expect that we’ve already seen good results on that from the changes in the hospital food at Tampa General, which was one of the first hospitals to actually change its menu,” said Kennedy. “They are looking — that hospital is looking on its own at at measuring actual health outcomes. We’re confident that that’s going to happen.”

Kennedy also announced that hospitals that sign the Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge will receive a badge they can display on their websites.

The pledge calls on hospitals to “review the latest nutrition science and use evidence-based dietary practices to strengthen food service programs.” Changes involved in the pledge include limiting sugar-sweetened beverages and refined carbohydrates, along with increasing fiber-rich whole grains.

Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health, said at the press conference that the types of meals patients receive under this pledge would vary.

“We really work with our physicians and nutritionists and clinicians to make sure that it’s as healthy as possible,” said Freese Decker. “We serve thousands of people every day, three times a day, plus our team members, and each meal is organized by what they need, what is going on with their life, their chronic illness, why they may be in the hospital, and so we really work to customize it.”