What services makes this hospital food nationally renowned?
Stony Brook University Hospital in New York takes a progressive approach to hospital food. At University of Mississippi Medical Center, patients and visitors are given the choice to determine what their next meal is, while Stony Brook provides 29 menus in English and 9 menus in Spanish for a variety of dietary restrictions. There are specific menus for diets such as 10 north cardiac carbohydrate, low iodine and bariatric soft, and other restrictions I had never heard of. Patient dining orders are made over the phone or placed via an advanced meal form handed off to a food service ambassador. Stated at the bottom of the advanced meal order form is “Please note that during your stay, your diet is ordered by your doctor and may change a few times due to tests, treatments, or doctor’s orders. We will do our very best to ensure your selections are delivered to you.” Clearly, Stony Brook University Hospital places emphasis and care on making sure patients stick to their diets. The only menus that share nutritional facts are the carbohydrate control and cardiac carbohydrate menus, featuring the grams of carbohydrates for each menu item. Other than that, there is no information on calories or other nutritional facts. There are special menus available on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter. Kosher Meals are available upon request during Passover. In addition, special desserts are available on the Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter.
For guests, there are dining locations throughout the hospital such as The Market Place Cafe, Starbucks, Panera Bread, Jamba Juice and Cancer Center Dining. However, guests are able to purchase a guest meal card to order room service to eat with their loved one in their room. There are various events and menu specials, with Battle of the Sliders at The Market Place Cafe beginning March 18 through April 8, giving people the option to vote for their favorite chef inspired slider. On March 27, The Market Place Cafe will offer ballpark food to celebrate The Mets opening day, an event put on by the Faculty Student Association (FSA) at Stony Brook University. Guest chefs appear throughout the year, featuring Chef Wendy Falcon from US Foods during last fall and Chef Jen Moyer Murphy with Clemens Food Group promoting Farm Promise Pork, ethically sourced meat raised with no antibiotics. There is a page dedicated to the culinary team at Stony Brook, accompanied by a one minute video introducing the team as they appreciate their job and coworkers.
However, what sets Stony Brook University apart from other hospitals is The Stony Brook Heights Rooftop Micro-Farm, discussed in Stony Brook Heights Rooftop Micro-Farm blog post.
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