Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Food sustainability is a concept that is emerging in many countries around the world, including Canada. Sustainable food explores many dimensions related to food, namely its nutritional value, its quality, its social value, its environmental impact, and its economic and governing influences. The goal of food sustainability is to achieve better human and environmental health through these dimensions. Foodservices in institutions may take actions, termed sustainable menu practices (SMPs), to align themselves with these dimensions. The purpose of this research is to describe if including SMPs in healthcare institutions menus is acceptable and/or suitable, in the province of Quebec, Canada. In partnership with Nourish, a national initiative on the future of food in healthcare, this study is conducted out to allow the development of a practical tool for foodservice managers, helping them achieve SMPs in their menus. To carry out the research, 17 foodservice managers participated in the study, where they were interviewed about their perceptions on sustainable food in their foodservice. Results show many barriers and facilitators in including SMPs in foodservice menus, as well as different motivations set by managers. Knowing this information can help better adapt a tool meant to help foodservice managers, based on what they find most difficult to overcome when including SMPs. This knowledge can then guide Canadian institutions in adopting SMPs, providing all the health benefits of sustainability at the human and at the environmental levels.