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If you lunched at the BWH Cafeteria this summer, you may have noticed potato showing up in some unusual places on your tray: your cutlery.
Potato starch cutlery is just one of the green items that BWH Food Services tested this summer. Other items include trays and plates made from a combination of sugarcane husk and bamboo, and paper cups made with a corn-plastic lining instead of the conventional petroleum plastic lining.
“As places of healing, hospitals have a natural incentive to support a food system that produces fresh, healthy food while minimizing threats to our ecological health,” said Food Services Director Karen Purdy-Reilly. “This summer, we explored ways to do that.”
The service ware items that Food Services tested have an environmental advantage because they are made from renewable resources as opposed to a non-renewable resource, like oil.
“Foam products have made up a significant portion of the cafeteria’s waste,” said Cafeteria Manager Al Bissonnette. “These new products will help us to reduce our portion of non-biodegradable plastic going to the waste stream.”
Food Services also is beginning to purchase locally and sustainably grown fresh fruits and vegetables. “This provides support to local farmers and reduces the distances traveled and fossil fuels burned for some of the food we purchase,” Purdy-Reilly said.
BWH Food Services will host a fall harvest event during lunch on Sept. 25 to feature some of the foods New England farmers produce. Look for signs in the Cafeteria highlighting these locally grown items.
John Stoddard of Food Services contributed this article.