Food and nutrition – Green Plan

Providing nutritional food to patients is an important part of supporting their health and recovery, and the overall health and wellbeing of the public. Nutritional food is also beneficial to the health and wellbeing of our staff.

Providing and promoting seasonal fruit and vegetables as well as avoiding heavily processed foods has the potential to offer healthier and low carbon options to patients and staff.

In addition to what healthier and more sustainable food options we provide to patients and staff, it’s also important for us to understand our food waste and identify innovative methods to reduce this in line with NHS guidance.

Our food and nutrition objective is to:

Provide and promote healthier and lower carbon food to staff and patients, working to quantify and then reduce our food waste.

Where we are

  • In the process of developing digital menus for patients, promoting vegetation and vegan options
  • Completing annual food wastage (in tonnes) as part of ERIC

Where we want to be

  • Implement digital menus across the Trust
  • Reduce food waste, with methods to quantify and understand our food waste and where it’s come from
  • Measure food waste in line with the Estates Returns Information Collection (ERIC) and set reduction targets
  • Reduce single use plastics used across the site
  • Provide and promote healthy food options to staff, even at out of hours times; this includes supporting the provision of seasonal menus high in fruits and vegetables and low in heavily processed foods

Actions

We have identified the following actions to enable achievement of our food and nutrition objective:
Action Trust lead Delivery date
Continue to measure food waste in line with the Estates Returns Information Collection (ERIC) and set reduction targets to drive a reduction in food waste – both plate waste and ordered meals Food and Nutrition Lead 2028
Explore opportunities to make menus healthier and lower carbon by introducing digital menu ordering, introducing seasonal menus and, where possible, utilise local food producers Food and Nutrition Lead, CDIO and Head of Sustainability Mid 2026
Explore circular economy opportunities, e.g., recycling used cooking oil into biodiesel Food and Nutrition Lead Mid 2026
Reduce single use plastics and packaging, e.g., all food comes in plastic containers; engagement with procurement contract(s) Food and Nutrition Lead 2028
Explore out of hours menu options Food and Nutrition Lead Mid 2026
Explore cold storage options at BRI to support a reduction to deliveries to site and emissions Food and Nutrition Lead and Estates and Facilities Mid 2026

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