DC Hospitals Win Plant-Based Cooking Competition

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The District of Columbia Hospital Association (DCHA) Program Services Company has awarded its third Healthy Hospital Initiative (HHI) Cooking Competition winners, recognizing the exceptional teams and individuals for their best plant-based dishes. The event is sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit of more than 17,000 doctors that promotes nutrition education for medical staff and access to plant-based meals in hospitals, among other efforts.

Winners were announced on May 25 during a virtual reveal. DCHA recognized the exceptional teams and individuals for their best, plant-based healthy dishes. The dishes used carrots as the plant-based, secret ingredient, to make their dishes unique, creative, and delicious. Winners were presented with trophies, monetary awards, and most importantly, bragging rights on what hospital has the most delicious food. 

“This event was a great partnership, working together to make healthy food a central part of healthcare,” says Stephanie McBurnett, RDN, nutrition educator for the Physicians Committee. “Providing patients with healthy plant-based options will do more than help them recover. It creates a teachable moment in which DC residents can learn what foods they should eat to treat and prevent chronic disease.”

The 2023 HHI Cooking Competition Awards were given to the following hospitals and individuals:

• MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital: Overall Winner: Chef Artis Crum
• MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital: Best Entrée: Open-Faced Purple Carrots Ravioli
• MedStar Georgetown University Hospital: Best Side Dish: Carrot Cilantro Couscous Salad
• MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital: Best Dessert: Vegan Carrot Halwa Pistachio Trifle
• MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital: Taste & Appearance: Chef Artis Crum
• Psychiatric Institute of Washington: Originality & Video Quality: Chef Kevin Brown
• MedStar Washington Hospital Center: Nutrition & Creativity: Chef Matthew Galo

In 2017, the American Medical Association passed a Healthy Food Options in Hospitals resolution that calls on U.S. hospitals to improve the health of patients, staff, and visitors by providing plant-based meals. The American College of Cardiology made the same recommendation in Planting a Seed: Heart-Healthy Food Recommendations for Hospitals.

The DCHA’s efforts are part of a national trend among hospitals to make more plant-based meals available to employees, patients, and visitors. In May, Santa Clara Valley Healthcare in California became the first public hospital system in the nation to include Universal Meals on the cafeteria menu for employees and visitors. Recipes and instruction for Universal Meals, a plant-based food program free of animal ingredients and the top nine allergens, were created by the Physicians Committee and recipes and instruction are offered at no cost to hospitals.