Healthy Food

In the face of ever-growing rates of diabetes (which affects more than 26 million Americans) and obesity (more than 68 percent of Americans are considered obese or overweight), it would make sense for hospitals to be sources of healthy food. But in many hospital cafeterias, and on patient meal trays, offerings do not always reflect the nourishment needed to maintain a healthy body and healthy environment. Hospitals that recognize the undeniable link between nutrition and health are changing their ways. Food waste, which accounts for more than 20 percent of a hospital’s total waste volume, is also being addressed. In addition to offering healthier food in their own facilities, hospitals are helping communities create sustainable food systems (these are collaborative networks that integrate food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management.) Stony Brook University Hospital has been involved in many of these efforts.

Our hospitals, community leaders, and health care providers have a unique opportunity to develop programs that aim to reverse negative food- and health-related trends by:

• Modeling healthier, more sustainable food choices for patients, employees, and visitors while also saving money by reducing food waste and stewarding natural resources.
• Utilizing our Stony Brook Food Farmacy program.
• Maximizing hospital purchasing power to increase the availability of local, sustainable foods within the hospital and by extension, in the community.
• Leveraging programming and investments to address social and environmental determinants of health by increasing healthy food access for patients, staff and visitors while also building healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems for their communities.

Goals for 2026

1. Provide 350 food insecure patients with supplemental food (totaling 6,300 lbs) and 60 infant patients with one can of infant formula upon discharge
2. Harvest 1,100 lbs of produce from the Stony Brook Heights Rooftop Farm
3. Increase vegan offering at the chef station by 25%
4. Reduce lunch and dinner kitchen waste by 15%
5. Reduce single use plastics in retail operations by additional 10%
6. Introduce a recycling program in the cafeteria.
7. Green catering options to be offered
8. Investigate composting options in collaboration with the University 
9. Per EO32, assure NYS spending is 25% by the end of 2026
10. Make progress/determine appropriateness on Cool Food pledge (including a 25% reduction in food-related GHG by 2030) and U.S. Food Waste Pact

Recent Highlights:

Addressing Food Insecurity

We continue to expand our nutrition programs for food-insecure patients. In 2025, we identified and worked with more than 321 food-insecure patients, providing supplemental food, educational materials, and information about community resources. We provided 5,788 pounds of food to these patients. In 2025, we harvested 1,122 pounds of produce and herbs which were used for patient nutrition. 

Since 2023 the Nutrition Division has operated our Stony Brook Medicine Food Farmacy. Since its inception, we have trained over fifty students and volunteers to design the physical space, run virtual and onsite food drives, develop procedures, manage inventory, and serve patients. Patients are referred via a nurse screening process upon admission or by social workers or other providers during usual care. 

Additionally, we have established culinary medicine and cooking classes for medical students, and continue to use the roof-top farm as a learning environment.

• We are offering healthier menus, purchasing locally and sustainably grown products, reducing the amount of meat purchased and served, and helping meet the food needs of our community, all in an effort to achieve: 
• Improving the nutritional value of food available to patients, employees, and visitors; 
• Increasing access to healthy food options for the community, as food insecurity greatly affects physical and mental health; and,
• Building an environmentally sustainable food system for long-term benefits for our community.

The Hospital Nutrition Division worked with Healthier U to develop virtual nutrition activities for staff. They also worked with SBM’s Social Media Manager to post weekly recipes and tips on the social media outlets.

Employees are offered participation in a local community supported agriculture (CSA) farm with farm shares delivered to the Hospital for pick-up during the growing season.

Youthful Gardeners 

In 2025 we pilot-tested our Grow With Us Program. We provided four seedlings to seven middle school/high school kids who agree to care for the seedlings, harvest the produce, and participate in a social media campaign. We provided weekly email with tips for caring for the seedlings and asked them to send pictures of their seedlings growing, some of which we posted on our Instagram (@stonybrooknutrition). Our goal is to continue this project in summer 2026. 

Cooking Oil

The Hospital was able to decrease its cooking oil waste by 54% by shifting to a new management method by contracting with a new vendor that takes the used cooking oil, filters it onsite, and returns the filtered oil for reuse. This minimizes transportation impacts and improves maintenance and storage. 

Team Leaders:

Josephine Connolly-Schoonen, Michael West

Policies:

Stony Brook Medicine Nutrition Policy