Healthy Food in Your Hospital

At MaineHealth, we believe that food is medicine. Learn more about what your hospital is doing to provide healthy foods to patients, visitors and employees.

Hand grabbing a handful of blueberries

Healthy Hospital Food

MaineHealth is committed to making the healthy choice the easy choice at our hospitals by:

  • Serving more fruits and vegetables
  • Offering plant-based meals
  • Purchasing more local food
  • Implementing sustainable practices
  • Encouraging healthier drink choices
  • Preparing healthier recipes
  • Labeling foods with nutrition information
  • Marketing healthy foods in cafeterias and on menus

With the help of our local food service teams, MaineHealth is improving access to healthy foods and beverages for patients, care teams members and communities.

More about our commitment to healthy hospital food

MaineHealth hospital cafes highlight plant-based meals every Monday for “Plant-Powered Mondays.” A focus on plant-based meals helps support the MaineHealth strategic plan goal around environmental sustainability; plant forward menus are better for the environment. This initiative also supports the MaineHealth vision of working together so our communities are the healthiest in America, as decreasing meat consumption can help reduce chronic disease.

Be sure to check out the tasty, plant-powered meals every Monday at your local hospital!

Plant-Powered Mondays

MaineHealth hospitals are committed to purchasing and serving locally-grown, seasonal fruits, vegetables, seafood and more. Our organizations work with distributors and local farmers to access a wide variety of fruits and vegetables without added salt or sugar and serve them to care team members, patients and community members regularly. 

MaineHealth hospitals partner with Practice Greenhealth to improve environmental sustainability, which includes food procurement. MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Portland received the Practice Greenhealth Partner for Change Award in both 2022 and 2023. This award recognizes MHMMCP for substantive progress and superior performance in environmental sustainability. The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards are the nation’s premier recognition program for environmental performance in the health care sector. Launched in 2002, the awards program recognizes health care facilities and health systems for their commitment to environmental stewardship and their sustainability achievements.  

Contact Us

For more information please contact us at foodismedicine@mainehealth.org.