PFHC Coalition launch statement
Serving Up Change
A new coalition launches to support the healthcare sector to pioneer the best in sustainable, delicious plant-rich meals.
We are excited to announce the launch of a groundbreaking new coalition, supporting and empowering healthcare organisations to adopt delicious, nutritious and sustainable plant-rich food cultures.
The Plants First Healthcare Coalition (PFHC) is formed of five founding members: Greener By Default, MyNutriWeb, ProVeg UK, Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, and Real Zero. Together, we bring a wealth of experience to support the healthcare sector in increasing plant-based meal provision, benefi ting people and the planet, and maintaining choice.
A culmination of several years of working in partnership, the founding organisations have come together to share their expertise as a single coherent offering, including business case development, culinary and service staff training, recipe development, sector engagement, choice architecture, behavioural nudges, healthcare professional training and food culture change. We have a successful track record of implementing food change in healthcare settings, schools and other institutions.
The coalition has already delivered a milestone invitation-only event, bringing together sector leaders to champion, spotlight and share existing excellence in the sustainable diet space. This work will continue with the aim of building a shared roadmap for achieving a world class plant-rich food offering in UK health services.
Pilot programmes are currently taking place in 10 NHS hospital trusts with more to start over the coming months.
Philip Shelley, NHSE National Lead For Net Zero Food says:
“If we are to drive positive change across healthcare, then partnership working will be at the core of any success. The Plants First Healthcare Coalition has worked tirelessly to drive a collated approach to plant-rich menus across our NHS sites. This has included educational events, workshops and supplier engagement. If we are to have a purposeful and long standing change of direction, then support for choice and healthier outcomes should be prioritised.”
If you’d like to learn how we can support sustainable food culture change in your healthcare setting – get in touch at info@plantsfirsthealthcare.com
NEW WEBSITE COMING SOON
Coalition partners:
Plant-Based Healthcare Professionals UK, Shireen Kassam
“PBHP UK is delighted to join forces with other sector leaders in bringing the very best in sustainable, plant-rich meals to healthcare settings in the UK. Our combined expertise and experience as coalition members make us the ideal collective to champion a shift towards healthy and sustainable diets. We look forward to collaborating with and supporting healthcare catering leaders, professionals and suppliers on the journey to build a positive, world-class plant-rich food culture.”
Greener By Default, Heidi Fritz
“Greener by Default is thrilled to take our work with UK hospitals to the next level alongside our dynamic coalition partners, with whom we share a deep commitment to building greener, healthier, and more inclusive healthcare settings and a belief that, together, we can amplify our impact far beyond what any of us could achieve alone.”
ProVeg UK, Sophia Millar
“ProVeg are delighted to bring our expertise in transforming large-scale public food systems to the healthcare space, joining forces with a wealth of food industry and healthcare experts to drive plant-rich innovation. With people and the planet at the heart of what we do, together we’re pioneering a systemic shift to embed healthy, sustainable nutrition at the core of healthcare provision.”
Real Zero, Adrian Byrne
“Delivering plant-rich food in the healthcare setting is a high-impact intervention that benefi ts people and planetary health and delivers incredible value for money for the public purse. We are hugely excited to be working alongside our ground-breaking coalition partners to deliver world-class, evidence-based, sustainable food solutions across the NHS. As a coalition, we have a shared vision that rightly places food and food services at the heart of patient care and believe that together, we can scale the pace and impact of our work beyond what we would achieve individually.”
MyNutriWeb, Tanya Haffner
“Delivering a delicious plant-rich food culture in healthcare, is one of the most powerful and lowest cost interventions that we can be implementing to improve patient outcomes, cut environmental impact and reduce healthcare costs – all within existing food and nutrition standards and maintaining full patient choice. The triple wins for people, planet, and the NHS budget, make it an essential high impact game changing healthcare strategy for the benefi t of all. MyNutriWeb is privileged to be collaborating with progressive stakeholders and change makers in the NHS including food service dietitians and the Plants First Healthcare Coalition to help make this vision a lasting reality.”