Tampa General Hospital becomes first to sign RFK Jr. pledge to serve healthy food

Not too long ago, Tampa General Hospital drew some criticism for having a McDonald’s on its campus.

The hospital has taken a different approach. A few years ago, Tampa General Hospital looked to transform its food offerings. The health system turned to celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian, who helped overhaul Tampa General’s menu, including grilled fish and other healthy items inspired by a Mediterranean diet.

Now, Tampa General has become the nation’s first hospital to sign the federal government’s Make Hospital Food Healthy Again pledge, a campaign led by U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kennedy joined Tampa General officials at a press event to recognize the Florida system for being the first to sign the pledge.

John Couris, president and CEO of the Florida Health Sciences Center, which includes Tampa General, said at the press event that he hopes other hospitals follow suit.

“The fact that we stand here as the first hospital to sign the Make Hospital Food Healthier pledge is a real honor,” Couris said. “Not only to serve our community, but to be a role model for the rest of the country, we stand ready, willing, and able to help this administration push this initiative across this country from coast to coast.”

‘Redesigning kitchens, rebuilding menus’

Couris says the health system has incorporated more locally grown food, with 25% of the food served to patients coming from local farmers.

He also lauded Zakarian’s efforts to overhaul Tampa General’s menu, saying the Iron Chef worked extensively with the health system on the effort.

“For two and a half years, we went to work, redesigning menus, rebuilding kitchens, training our staff, working and collaborating with our physicians from the University of South Florida, and building a menu and building a platform that we can all be proud of,” Couris said at the press event. “We're serving our patients food that any one of you would eat in any fine restaurant in the city of Tampa.”

Zakarian, who attended the press event, said that patients benefit from better food.

“When you're sitting in a hospital bed with half of you uncovered, it's a real depressing situation, and you want something homey and yummy and delicious, and you want that experience because food really is a transformative thing,” Zakarian said.

‘We have a template’

Couris praised Kenndy for spearheading the campaign to improve hospital food. “He has supercharged this work,” Couris said.

Kennedy lauded Tampa General for setting an example for other hospitals. He pointed to his work with Dr. Mehmet Oz, director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to get hospitals to serve better food to patients.

“This hospital was two years ahead of us,” Kennedy said of Tampa General.

“We have a template here at Tampa General where we can point every hospital in the country … and we can say if they did it, you can do it,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy and Oz have said they are looking for hospitals to sign the pledge and voluntarily commit to serving healthier food, but they have also reminded hospitals that Medicare funding is tied to following federal dietary guidelines. The agency sent notices to hospitals in March urging them to serve high-protein foods and whole grains, while cutting back on processed foods and sugary drinks.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who attended the press conference, said she and Kennedy sampled some of Zakarian’s food, which is served at Tampa General.

“That was the best chicken noodle soup I've ever had, chef, and I mean that sincerely,” Rollins said.

Couris credited Zakarian for changing the food menu throughout the system and helping make sure the changes were sustainable.

“Geoffrey taught us, retrained us, reskilled our chefs and our team members, and has built something that we can all be proud of, because it's making a real difference in the lives of the people that we care for,” Couris says.

And the McDonald’s at Tampa General is now closed. The space is now filled by Wright’s Gourmet House, a local deli, which is “delicious,” Couris said.

“We're learning as we're going,” Couris said. “I think what health systems have to realize is, it's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to fail along the way. It's not okay to stop trying building, creating, and partnering. So it's absolutely been an evolution.”

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