On 3 June 2019, the Hospital of Niort hosted the one-day workshop: Food waste and nutrition in healthcare facilities: developing a circular economy. This event brought together over 60 healthcare, nutrition, and catering professionals to discuss how healthcare can play a key leadership role in making food a fundamental part of health and healing by reducing the environmental impact.

This event forms part of the MECAHF project (Circular economy model for French hospitals), developed and managed by Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Europe in collaboration with the Hospital Center of Niort. The main objectives of this project are to reduce food waste and to provide high-quality and sustainable produce to patients and staff by adopting a circular economy model.

Many inspiring initiatives were presented during the workshop from France, Spain, Morocco and Slovenia showing how hospitals prevent and reduce food waste and increase sustainability in healthcare settings. Representatives from the French Ministry of Agriculture, the Regional Health Agency of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and the Agency for the Environment and Energy Management presented the GAROT law and its extension in the EGALIM law, the Regional Nutrition Strategy and the results of a study of food loss and waste in France produced by ADEME in 2016.

Sharing and discussing these experiences help inspire stakeholders across Europe to accelerate the transition to a healthier and more sustainable food system within the healthcare sector.

A full workshop report is available in French, as well as a series of short interviews from the workshop.

Access the report here [FR]