Earlier today I found myself in a central London hospital for an appointment. Getting old is no joke so I won’t make one.
With some time to spare, I wandered into the cafeteria to see what sort of vegan food might be on offer. What I found was not especially inspiring. The main vegan option appeared to be what I can only describe as a mummified baked potato, sitting sadly under the lights and looking as if it had been waiting far too long for anyone to take an interest.
Read more below.
There were a few sides that could be cobbled together into something plant-based, but a lot of the menu was meat and animal derived. Fried fish, chicken wings, and other non-vegan dishes were the dominant offerings. In a public health space, I was surprised that the focus was so far away from nutritious, fresh, and plant-based food.
It is 2025 and I truly believe hospitals should be leading the way in showing us how food can be nourishing, compassionate, and good for our health. Making vegan options the majority of the menu would be a powerful and inclusive action. It would send a clear message that well planned plant-based food is not just for some of us, but an exercise in caring for everyone who comes through the doors. Patients recovering, visitors supporting loved ones, staff working long hours… they all deserve food that feels good to eat and does good for people, animals, and planet.
A menu built around colourful vegetables, grains, legumes and fresh plant proteins would be a truer reflection of what it means to support community health. Of course comfort food has its place in our lives but perhaps a hospital cafeteria could serve something different than the local chippy?
I would love to hear what you think. Have you eaten in a UK hospital recently? What did you see on offer in the cafeteria and do you think we should expect better?
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I noticed the local hospital menu recently when my elderly mother was taken in unexpectedly. I am talking here about the patients menu (as opposed to what may be available in their cafe). Also note, my mum is not vegan, and at 83 I don’t think that is likely to change, she is now in a care home.
The main meal per day offered 15 choices which I thought was pretty good. However, there were only a couple of vegan options – and I wouldn’t eat either of them. One was a vegetable curry and I have a chilli and a chickpea intolerance so that was a big no. The other option was a vegan meat substitute and I do not eat vegan meat save the odd Linda McCartney sausage. I’ve never liked the taste nor texture of meat (hence highly disliking the influx of vegan meat products since the pandemic) and was vegetarian for 32 years before going vegan 10 years ago. One meal a day was sandwiches of which there were zero vegan options. If I had to spend more than a day or two in hospital I would not be able to eat most of the food available, I would be confined to toast with just jam (no butter) and black tea or black coffee as there was only dairy milk available. I’m truly hoping this will change in the future. The last time I had to stay in hospital overnight was 2019 and the only food the staff could offer me was an apple. It really is a missed opportunity for hospitals. What I find most disconcerting is that one of the local hospitals has a Greggs concession in the foyer. I get that that is aimed at visitors but it does kind of set a poor example.