Interior Health part of new program to get B.C. food into healthcare facilities

PENTICTON – A new provincial initiative aims to increase the content of B.C. grown food used in Interior Health facilities.

B.C. Minister of Health Lana Popham announced the Feed B.C. program this morning, March 8, during a tour of Penticton Regional Hospital’s regional production kitchen, according to a Ministry of Agriculture media release.

“It’s about working collaboratively to encourage, inspire and support a shift to more B.C. foods in health care and other government facilities,” Popham said in the release, adding the initiative also supported the agricultural sector by buying local.

Oliver based S&G Farms and Golden Valley Eggs of Abbotsford are two B.C. food growers working with Sysco to provide Interior Health with more B.C. grown products, the ministry says.

Penticton Regional Hospital and Vernon Jubilee Hospital will serve as regional production kitchens, where meals are prepared for all Interior Health facilities.

The ministry says the Feed B.C. initiative is being supported with more than $350,000 in provincial funding to provide a project facilitator, patient information, procurement specialist services and a food processing specialist. It's expected to act as a guide for strategies that could be implemented by other provincial health authorities as well as other public institutions.

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