Sodexo’s children’s menu at St Mary’s Hospital in London has been awarded the Food for Life Catering Mark Bronze Standard.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Sodexo introduced a new kitchen to serve St Mary’s Hospital paediatric ward last autumn. The introduction of the kitchen means that children are able to choose from a wider range of dishes, freshly prepared on site by Sodexo chefs. The new kitchen also caters for children who arrive late on the ward or who are attending an appointment elsewhere in the hospital.
The Food for Life Catering Mark is awarded to food providers by the Soil Association as an independent endorsement of the provenance and sustainability of the food they provide. It recognises caterers who are meeting standards on freshness, sustainability and animal welfare.
Some of the criteria met by the catering team at St Mary’s includes: at least 75% of dishes on the menu are prepared on site from unprocessed ingredients; all meat is from farms that satisfy UK animal welfare standards as a minimum, (such as Red Tractor) and is farm-assured; and menus make the best use of seasonal ingredients, as such in-season UK-grown fruit and vegetables.
Stephen Beeny, contract director for Imperial at Sodexo said; “We are really pleased to be awarded the Catering Mark. This is a great endorsement of the work of our teams at St Mary’s Hospital, who are committed to providing high quality, fresh food to our young patients. We are now working towards enhancing the menu even further, to aim for silver standard.”
Andrew Murray, head of facilities at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust said: “The on-site paediatric kitchen is part of the Imperial College Healthcare Trust’s partnership with Sodexo. Our new, fully equipped kitchen for paediatrics means we are able to prepare children’s meals from scratch, using fresh, unprocessed ingredients. This means parents can rest assured that while their child is in hospital they are well fed, using fresh ingredients, just like they would at home.”
Sodexo has worked with Imperial College Healthcare Trust since autumn 2014, delivering patient dining, cleaning, portering, retail and private patient services across its five hospitals in London. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country, providing services to over one million patients a year. The five hospitals include Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea Hospital; Hammersmith Hospital, Charing Cross Hospital; St Mary’s Hospital and the Western Eye Hospital.