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YAKIMA, Wash. -- The first thing you see when you walk into Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital’s in-house cafe is a counter full of cakes, pies and other mouthwatering desserts.
But that’s soon to change, as the hospital continues its participation in the “Healthier Hospitals Initiative” by adding more plant-based options to its menu and encouraging healthier choices for customers and patients.
The sweets will be moving to the back.
“Knowing what we know now, we knew we had to take action and change,” said Kate Gottlieb, sustainability and wellbeing coordinator at Memorial. “There’s so much research out there showing the importance and the power of plant-based foods, and how important it is in hospitals to help people heal.”
Memorial signed on to the national “Healthier Hospitals Initiative” last year, pledging to improve sustainability, nutrition, financial responsibility and safety in hospital facilities.
The hospital serves around 2,650 patient meals per week, along with about 7,200 meals in the cafe for employees and outside customers.
Last week, the hospital brought in a team of chefs for a two-day cooking class for 16 members of the dietary staff, where they learned to make things like garbanzo bean sliders, bananas foster, black bean and sweet potato burritos, and chocolate gravy for biscuits — all vegan.
But since the term “vegan” frequently brings to mind unseasoned slabs of tofu, head chef Wanda White from the University of North Texas prefers to say “plant-based.”
White drew headlines a few years ago after she established a meatless dining hall on campus, the first in the country, she says. The new options became enormously popular.
Now White works for the Humane Society of the United States, which actually does more than care for stray cats and dogs. White is involved in the “Protect Farm Animals” division, and the plant-based campaign is part of the organization’s goal of “humane eating.”
“We’re not asking people to give up meat totally,” White said. “We are actually here to get people to reduce meat, think about what they’re doing, be more compassionate with their eating choices. And also it helps you to have a healthier lifestyle.”
Memorial cafe moving forward with more ‘plant-based’ options | Local | yakimaherald.com
But that’s soon to change, as the hospital continues its participation in the “Healthier Hospitals Initiative” by adding more plant-based options to its menu and encouraging healthier choices for customers and patients.
The sweets will be moving to the back.
“Knowing what we know now, we knew we had to take action and change,” said Kate Gottlieb, sustainability and wellbeing coordinator at Memorial. “There’s so much research out there showing the importance and the power of plant-based foods, and how important it is in hospitals to help people heal.”
Memorial signed on to the national “Healthier Hospitals Initiative” last year, pledging to improve sustainability, nutrition, financial responsibility and safety in hospital facilities.
The hospital serves around 2,650 patient meals per week, along with about 7,200 meals in the cafe for employees and outside customers.
Last week, the hospital brought in a team of chefs for a two-day cooking class for 16 members of the dietary staff, where they learned to make things like garbanzo bean sliders, bananas foster, black bean and sweet potato burritos, and chocolate gravy for biscuits — all vegan.
But since the term “vegan” frequently brings to mind unseasoned slabs of tofu, head chef Wanda White from the University of North Texas prefers to say “plant-based.”
White drew headlines a few years ago after she established a meatless dining hall on campus, the first in the country, she says. The new options became enormously popular.
Now White works for the Humane Society of the United States, which actually does more than care for stray cats and dogs. White is involved in the “Protect Farm Animals” division, and the plant-based campaign is part of the organization’s goal of “humane eating.”
“We’re not asking people to give up meat totally,” White said. “We are actually here to get people to reduce meat, think about what they’re doing, be more compassionate with their eating choices. And also it helps you to have a healthier lifestyle.”
Memorial cafe moving forward with more ‘plant-based’ options | Local | yakimaherald.com