By Richard Dagenais, SAPA Communications Specialist
Of all the fresh produce used in CIUSSS West-Central Montreal kitchens, about half is local. Efforts to promote and prefer local over imported produce are paying off—but the goal across all CIUSSS sites is to continue pushing that percentage even higher.
“We want more fresh fruits and vegetables in our menus,” says Anouk Azuelos, Coordinator of Logistics and Clinical Support Services. “Using frozen is not as appealing, or exciting, for patients and residents, and when all is said and done, we’re doing all of this for them.”
Not only does using more local produce encourage the local economy, it shortens the distance that food must travel, reducing fuel consumption and emissions. It also raises the quality of food served to patients and residents, says Ms. Azuelos.
“We’re all aligned and focused on improving overall patient experience,” she says.
The Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec and the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec have reviewed menus, recipes and food sources at the Jewish General Hospital, Mount Sinai Hospital, Donald Berman Jewish Eldercare and Donald Berman Maimonides Geriatric Centre.
As a result of the assessments, these sites have officially achieved “Aliments du Québec au menu” certification, which recognizes institutions that prioritize local food in their food services and promote Quebec products on their menus.
Efforts will continue: the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal is committed to boosting the proportion of local produce in its kitchens another 4 to 5 percent by next year, Ms. Azuelos says.
“We’re being really aggressive about it because it’s an important value for us.”
Anouk Azuelos
However, getting food suppliers to provide more local produce is challenging.
Food service administrators throughout the CIUSSS are hoping future government contracts with food suppliers will include a strict obligation to provide a sufficient proportion of local produce.
To date, through its Stratégie nationale d’achat d’aliments du Québec—which aims to increase the share of local food purchases by public institutions—the provincial government only requests that health care institutions try to buy more local food.
Ms. Azuelos is keen to shift mentalities.
“If we can rely on more local suppliers who are interested in working with us and can supply the quantities we need, then we change the mindset and shift the process to encourage companies that are established here, instead of companies that are buying external and only distributing products,” she says.
Georgia Graphos, who looks after food and clinical nutrition at Donald Berman Maimonides, sees the Ministry’s Stratégie nationale d’achat d’aliments du Québec initiative as important. “We try as much as possible to buy locally. We cook our meals from scratch, avoid purchases of ready-made meals or processed foods, and we bake our own desserts in house, which definitely helps play a role, as well.”
The food services staff at Donald Berman Maimonides uses 57 percent local produce in its kitchen—the highest proportion in our CIUSSS—while respecting its cultural mandate and kosher certification.
“We purchase only kosher food supplies to produce our recipes while never losing sight of our main goal as a CHSLD food service, which is to provide nutritious meals that respect the preferences and clinical needs of the residents in our care,” says Ms. Graphos.
Ms. Azuelos wants local farmers to know that if they have good quality and quantity of crops to offer, “they can reach out to us because we would love to collaborate.”
“We take a lot of pride in being able to label our meals Aliments du Québec.”