A Menu for Sustainability: MMC’s First Coolfood Pledge Progress Report
In 2024, Mohawk Medbuy (MMC) announced a partnership with Nourish, a non-profit organization that advocates for improved planetary and patient health through better food choices in Canada's health care system. As a national, not-for-profit shared services organization that offers Nutrition Procurement Services, MMC shares Nourish's commitment to advancing environmental sustainability in health care, making this partnership a natural fit.
Together, MMC's MEALsource Nutrition Services and Nourish are simplifying the process of creating more sustainable hospital meals. By identifying lower-emission food options and process changes, they’re helping Members reduce the environmental footprint of their food service programs while maintaining nutritious menu offerings. Participation in the Coolfood pledge also provides MEALSource Members with individualized reports outlining emissions measurements, benchmarking and actionable insights for continuous improvement.
Over the past year, four MEALsource Members have taken the Coolfood Pledge, representing 12 hospital sites that collectively serve approximately three million patient meals.
"This first report marks an important step forward for our Members in understanding how food choices in their institutions can contribute to more sustainable health care," says Raechel Griffin, Senior Vice President, Strategic Sourcing, Capital and Nutrition at MMC. "The report illustrates how our MEALsource Member hospitals are at different stages in this journey – but collectively, their efforts have significant potential."
Peterborough Regional Health Centre is the latest MEALsource Member to take the Coolfood Pledge, championing the contribution of food services in improving health care sustainability.
"The Coolfood Pledge Progress Report indicates that MEALsource Members are well positioned to make measurable progress toward more sustainable food systems while maintaining nutritious, patient-centred meals," says Amy Ford, Planetary Health Director at Nourish. "We're here to ensure Members have access to meaningful information that supports both environmental performance and nutrition outcomes."
