It's hard to think of two things that fit together more seamlessly with overarching objectives than sustainability and healthcare foodservice.

On the individual level, the goal of healthcare is to sustain the patient and restore them to full health. We know that food plays an important role in this goal. In a clinical sense the results are actually measurable in terms of preventing recidivism, which is when a patient returns to the hospital within a certain length of time for treatment of the same malady.

On a community scale, the effects of how and what people eat within a healthcare foodservice setting has wider implications. Feeding people within a healthcare setting affords foodservice professionals the opportunity to educate the public about healthy alternatives to their normal diets. It's also a chance to introduce the community to a basic tenet of sustainability: buying local. And this, in turn, has positive implications for the health of the social fabric in terms of jobs and income for the people who live nearby.

Take a look at the Operator's Opinion article for a great discussion with Diane Imrie, MBA, RD, director of Nutrition Services at The University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. Diane brings a wealth of experience to the topic as she offers her insights into the role of sustainability in healthcare foodservice. Find out what equipment she sees as essential in bringing fresh, healthy, tasty food to her clientele.

Speaking of diets, this healthcare edition of FE&S exposes us to a wider than normal audience through associations like the Association for Healthcare Foodservice. If you like what you see, we hope that you will be inclined to consume FE&S on a regular basis by subscribing to receive the magazine, either in print or digitally, at fesmag.com/subscribe. We believe that the ground we cover within the pages of FE&S is of wide-ranging interest to all foodservice professionals throughout the year.