The days of the hospital snack cart rolling through the waiting room loaded with candy, chips, hot dogs and French fries are coming to a close, for some Oakland hospitals at least.

Dr. Robert Savio, chief of pediatrics at Highland General Hospital, said he realized the hospital's "diabetes cart" sent a mixed message to staff and patients it treats for diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

Savio said he got tired of seeing the snack cart in the waiting room tempting the same young patients and parents he would sooner advise to eat more nutritiously.

“If we don’t change the food available in hospital settings, it’s like we’re creating our own patients,” said Savio.

He set out to transform what the hospital offers for meals and snacks. Together with Michele Bunker-Alberts, a family nurse practitioner and lactation consultant, the duo set out to bring farm fresh produce to Highland.

Armed with a $5,000 Physicians Foundation grant and support from The California Endowment-funded Healthy Eating, Active Communities initiative, Savio and Bunker-Alberts partnered with West Oakland’s Peoples Grocery to have a fruits and vegetables delivered to the hospital every week.

Hospital staff pay $24 per Grub Box, each filled with 12 to 14 pounds of produce. This helps subsidize free or reduced-price boxes for low-income patients and their families.

The hospital gives out free samples to increase awareness of and participation in the program. Bunker-Alberts treated Highland’s management team to an elaborate meal cooked from one box of produce, which sealed the deal.

“They loved it and have put their unanimous support behind us,” Savio said.

Highland has made major changes throughout the hospital to drive home the need to eat healthy. No longer nicknamed the "diabetes cart," the snack cart now offers nuts, fresh fruit and baked snacks. And the gift shop no longer sells candy.

Across town at Children's Hospital Oakland, Dr. Lydia Tinajero-Deck said she identified the same problem.

“We’d tell patients to go home and work on eating healthy, but if they were grabbing lunch here, it would be hamburgers and hot dogs. We needed to create a food environment offering healthy choices every place they touch, and helpful guides like a little heart insignia next to the healthier options.”

Of all the institutions in a community, hospitals “need to walk the talk,” said Brenda Rueda-Yamashita, HEAC Health Sector Coordinator and Chronic Disease Manager for Alameda County Public Health.

Most hospitals can face challenges because their food comes from suppliers rather than being prepared on site. Rueda-Yamashita said she worked with suppliers to provide more nutritious options in the Children's Hospital cafeteria. They eliminated trans fats, and added nutritional labels and a salad and sandwich bar. They’ve made sure that 50 percent of food in the vending machines meets Oakland Unified School District’s Wellness Policy's nutritional sugar and fat percentage guidelines. 

The next step is to revise the menu to make it more nutritious.

“It’s important for our patients and also for our staff, to help them eat healthy wherever they are," said Tinajero-Deck.

For information on Grub Boxes, or to become a distribution site, click here.

Learn more about healthy eating:

Healthy Eating, Active Communities: www.healthyeatingactivecommunities.org

Dr. Lydia Tinajero-Deck, co-director, Healthy Hearts Program, Division of Cardiology, Children’s Hospital Oakland, and Member of the HEAC Health Sector Committee, 510-428-3885 ext. 4624, ltinajerodeck@mail.cho.org

Brenda Yamashita, HEAC Health Sector Coordinator and Chronic Disease Manager for Alameda County Public Health, 510-577-7081, Brenda.yamashita@acgov.org.

Tamiko Johnson, HEAC Oakland Site Coordinator, Alameda Public Health Department, 510-595-6439, Tamiko.Johnson@acgov.org.