Every single day hospitals in the U.S. waste tons of food that have not been eaten or even touched. They clear the trays, throw away the leftovers from the catering, and throw the meals that are packed in plastic and paper into the landfills. Although it is easy to see food waste in hospitals as a minor issue when compared to the urgent work that hospitals have to do, waste in the healthcare sector is a big public health, financial, and environmental problem. The waste of the U.S. healthcare system is almost 30 pounds per patient per day, and food makes up a big part of it. As per the Health Care Without Harm initiative, the hospitals in the U.S. waste around 6 million pounds of food daily, most of which is fit for human consumption.

The waste of food in hospitals is a reflection of the contradiction in the U.S. health care system. The facilities that are supposed to make people well are the ones that are also causing environmental harm and wasting natural resources. When food waste is put into landfills, it produces methane gas during the process of decomposition. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, thus increasing the climate change rate, which is already a reason for the rise in cases of respiratory diseases, heat-related deaths, and the spread of diseases that are transmitted by insects. To summarize, hospital food waste is a health issue that is concealed in plain sight.

Causes of Hospitals’ Huge Food Waste

The excessive waste has multiple causes at the same time. One of the maincauses is the strict food safety regulations which force the hospitals to throw away any food that has been prepared but not served after a particular period. Also, hospitals usually produce more meals than required so as to maintain the flexibility of the patient menu and avoid shortages. A report published by the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2022 stated that only about 60% of the food served is eaten by the patients meaning that almost half of the hospital meals go to waste. The factors responsible for this are overproduction, serving size, and limited options for the disposal of food that is not consumed.

Another issue is the fragmentation of the whole system. Some hospitals do not have centralized systems. Jospitals are split into a number of smaller units, and there is no common program for sustainability at large, leading each unit to deal with waste in their own ways. According to a 2023 survey conducted by Practice Greenhealth, only 20% of the hospitals had a formal food recovery or composting program. On the other hand, the Environmental Protection Agency states that in the U.S., food waste is the biggest single source of landfill waste.

Economic and Social Impacts

The very costly environmental impact of food waste is mainly through the hospitals’ regular operation budgets. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calculates the annual total loss of food in hospitals and long-term care facilities combined to be about $1.2 billion. The same food, if redirected through donation programs, not only would be less costly but also could be used to tackle food insecurity. The ReFED Food Waste Reduction Roadmap gives the average economic and social benefit of $14 per dollar invested in food recovery through the reduction of disposal costs, improvement of community nutrition and creation of jobs in waste management and redistribution.

Policy Solutions for Sustainable Hospitals

Hospitals can follow the path of least resistance by adopting these policy models that are already in place. The Food Recovery Hierarchy, put together by the EPA, categorizes waste prevention techniques from the most to the least effective: source reduction, donation, animal feed, industrial uses, composting, and landfill disposal. California and Massachusetts liberal states have taken up the leadership position by enacting laws requiring the diversion of commercial food waste and encouraging hospitals to donate.

Federal action is also developing. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is now incorporating sustainability indicators into its Health Sector Climate Pledge, which incentivizes hospitals to achieve a 50% reduction in emissions and waste by 2030. Some health systems, including Kaiser Permanente and Cleveland Clinic have implemented composting and donation programs that redirect thousands of pounds of food each year to local food banks.

Cutting down on food waste in hospitals is not only an eco-friendly measure but also a preventive healthcare policy. Eliminating pollution, ensuring all people have access to good food and making hospital operations more efficient are factors that directly lead to healthier populations. The government and health officials can work together to unite the environment and the patients, viewing any food waste not as a byproduct but as a sign of inefficiency in the system.

If health policies are really intended to prevent harm and foster health, then the battle against food waste is an integral part of that. Every day hospitals cure people, but by changing their food management practices they can start to rejuvenate the earth as well.

Works Cited

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “Food Recovery Hierarchy.” United States Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/smm/sustainable-management-materials-food.
Health Care Without Harm. “Reducing Food Waste in Hospitals.” Health Care Without Harm, https://noharm-uscanada.org/.
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Plate Waste in Hospital Foodservice: A Review.” Elsevier, https://www.jandonline.org/.
Practice Greenhealth. “Sustainability Benchmark Report 2023.” Practice Greenhealth, https://practicegreenhealth.org/.
ReFED. “Roadmap to 2030: Reducing U.S. Food Waste by 50%.” ReFED, https://refed.org/.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). “Food Waste in Healthcare Facilities.” U.S. Department of Agriculture, https://www.usda.gov/.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “Health Sector Climate Pledge.” HHS.gov, https://www.hhs.gov/climate-change-health-equity-environmental-justice/climate-pledge/index.html.