Berrywood Hospital, part of Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) has become the first hospital in the UK to achieve the prestigious Food for Life Served Here (FFLSH) Gold Certification.
Berrywood is a small, specialist mental health facility, with 120 patients across 10 wards. The catering team provides patient meals and operates a busy café with 120+ covers per day for staff and visitors. From the outset, the catering team set their sights on gold, working in close partnership with the Food for Life team.
David Maher, Deputy Chief Executive of Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Trust, says everyone is “immensely proud,” of this achievement. “Recognising the vital connection between nutrition, wellbeing and recovery, particularly in mental health settings has been at the heart of the reason for going for gold. The team have worked incredibly hard to ensure sustainability is at the forefront of all they do, by sourcing more food locally and prioritising ethical suppliers. This is a landmark moment for our Trust, providing valuable recognition for the hardworking members of staff that serve exceptional food every day and for hospital catering nationally.”
With tailored 1:1 support from Food for Life awarding officer Amelia Peace and guidance from Tayler Maggs, the team at Berrywood were able to map out a clear action plan and turn ambition into reality – achieving gold in record time.
Food for Life Head of Healthy and Sustainable Diets, Caron Longden acknowledges that the “nimbleness” of a small setting such as Berrywood has helped the team to achieve Gold in such a short space of time. For larger sites and those with catering contracts in place, red tape and time pressures can make achieving accreditation more challenging. “It is something we must work together on, to conquer, as all hospitals look to sustainability goals. I hope Berrywood is just the first hospital to achieve gold.”
Putting good food on the menu
This achievement is particularly impressive given Berrywood’s relatively small scale. Reaching gold is a challenge that requires careful planning, menu reformulation and changes across supply chains. Yet with the right partnership, it is achievable, and Berrywood’s success shows what is possible when commitment, creativity and expert support come together.
The team at Berrywood:
• Increased meals cooked from scratch
• Introduced more whole grains, fruit and vegetables
• Prioritised local suppliers
• Boosted the use of organic produce.
Joanne Fitzgerald, Deputy General Manager of Hotel Services at Berrywood Hospital, says: “We are thrilled to be the first hospital in the country to achieve gold. It has taken a huge amount of work for our small team, from redesigning menus to working closely with new suppliers. But the support from Food for Life gave us the confidence and structure to get there, and seeing how much patients and staff value the food makes it all worthwhile.”
Presenting to the Hospital Caterers Association’s Oxford Branch Study Day earlier this week (September 30), Joanne shared more insight about achieving this accreditation and the benefits it is bringing. These include positioning nutrition as a key part of patient care, improving food quality and identifying cost savings (which helps to offset the FFLSH requirement for more organic produce), such as through scratch cooking and building relationships with local suppliers.
In addition, the team have embraced the NHSE Recipe Bank which is a searchable platform of menus which are low carbon, healthy and nutritious, and they have started working towards the Green Kitchen Standard, focusing on reducing energy, water and food waste.
Pictured: Sophie Pritchard, Head of Sustainable Catering at Food for Life and Joanne Fitzgerald
