Florida Hospital Commits to Healthy Food Initiative

A Florida hospital leads the nation by signing the ‘Make Hospital Food Healthier’ pledge, aiming to provide patients with nutritious, minimally processed meals. Tampa General Hospital’s CEO, John Couris, endorsed the pledge at a news conference with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins, and celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian.

The 1,000-bed hospital partnered with Zakarian last year to revise its menu, focusing on ‘food is medicine’ principles.

The revised menu prioritizes nutritional content which ‘helps to prevent, manage, and treat illnesses,’ according to a 2025 news release from the hospital.

If you go to your friend’s house and you say, ‘This tastes like hospital food,’ that’s not a compliment, Kennedy stated during the conference.

The pledge urges hospitals to reduce processed foods and added sugars. Kennedy emphasized that hospitals should promote health, noting, We were giving patients food that could worsen their chronic illnesses. Couris expressed commitment to quality food despite a 5% to 7% increase in food purchasing costs. He emphasized that these costs are manageable for the hospital.

Post-menu changes, officials reported a 53% rise in perceived food quality, with more patients completing their meals, as reported by Fox 13 Tampa Bay.

During their visit, Kennedy and Rollins sampled dishes prepared by the hospital’s culinary team, which included soup, mezze salad, and steak. The event underscored the new pledge launched by HHS and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to offer healthier hospital meals.

The ‘Make Hospital Food Healthier’ pledge also aligns with broader efforts to decrease processed foods in hospital meals announced earlier this month. Patients recovering from severe conditions deserve better than ultra-processed foods, according to Kennedy.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services alerted hospitals in March, mandating adherence to the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans to maintain Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements. Kennedy praised Tampa General Hospital’s initiative, noting that 25% of its food is sourced from local farmers, demonstrating a viable model for others.

We have a template here at Tampa General. We can say if they did it, you can do it, Kennedy remarked.