Not Just a Meal: improving hospital food for culturally diverse patients

Led by our Food Services and Nutrition team, the project has explored the many factors that shape how meals are  experienced in hospital, from the importance of familiar and culturally meaningful food to the role meals can play in comfort, wellbeing, and recovery.
 

Feedback from consumers highlighted key themes, including the value of cultural connection through food, appreciation for care received, and the importance of choice and accessible menus.
 

As a result, the project has led to several positive outcomes, including more culturally inclusive dishes and celebration days (such as Lunar New Year, Eid and NAIDOC Week), the creation of a cultural recipe bank, and the development of a consumer-informed blueprint to guide future authentic recipe development.
 

More recently, the Dietetics team partnered with Vietnamese community members and chefs from our Central Production Kitchen (CPK) to begin the next step where Western Health and Community members are co-creating authentic recipes for wider use.
 

The process began with a visit to Footscray Market, where community members shared their experiences and helped staff sample and learn about traditional congee. The group then came together at the Melton Community Services kitchen to cook and refine recipes, with the goal of adapting them for large-scale preparation in the CPK, which produces around 1,000 meals each day for Western Health sites.

Not Just a Meal continues to support a more inclusive food service that reflects and respects the cultural diversity of the communities we care for.