Friday, October 24, Lakes Region General Hospital and Franklin Regional Hospital served over 200 meals that featured meat raised without non-therapeutic antibiotics.
Joining alongside Health Care Without Harm and more than 200 other hospitals across the country (49 in New England and 1 of 2 in the state of New Hampshire), LRGHealthcare celebrated Food Day through its efforts to eliminate the overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture and build a healthy, sustainable food supply.
“Over a year ago we made a change for the better and started purchasing all ground beef from Miles Smith Farm in Loudon,” said Shirley Valley, Director of Food & Nutrition Services, “All of their beef is locally raised without hormones and antibiotics; we were proud to take this opportunity to showcase our commitment through Food Day.”
“In order to solve the growing antibiotic resistance crisis in medicine we need to transform animal agriculture,” said Gary Cohen, president and co-founder of Health Care Without Harm. “Hospitals – like LRGHealthcare and others that participated in Food Day – can lead this transformation by using their purchasing power to serve healthier food to their patients and employees as well as drive healthy, sustainable practices in the communities they serve.”
Across the country on Food Day alone, participating hospitals collectively spent thousands of dollars on 9,000 pounds of chicken, 6,300 pounds of beef, and 2,700 pounds of pork and other meats that are raised without non-therapeutic antibiotics.
LRGHealthcare served Shepherd’s Pie as their special item of the day on Friday for patients and in their cafeterias.
LRGHealthcare is a not-for-profit healthcare charitable trust representing Lakes Region General Hospital, Franklin Regional Hospital, and affiliated medical providers. LRGHealthcare’s mission is to provide quality, compassionate care and to strengthen the well-being of our community.
Heath Care Without Harm (noharm.org) works to transform the health sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it becomes ecologically sustainable and a leading advocate for environmental health and justice.
Food Day (foodday.org/) inspires Americans to change their diets and our food policies. Every October 24, thousands of events all around the country bring Americans together to celebrate and enjoy real food and to push for improved food policies.