Delicious changes are underway at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital

Published On: March 2, 2020

CHALLENGING THE STEREOTYPE OF “TYPICAL” HOSPITAL FOOD Delicious changes are underway at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital

(St. Thomas, ON) – St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital is implementing changes to improve the culinary experience in the Atrium Café. As one of the few hospitals left in Southwestern Ontario that still cooks a large percentage of menu items onsite, STEGH is proud to announce its expanded menu and new extended hours (beginning in April).

The Food Services team recently surveyed internal and external stakeholders to gain a better understanding of how the Café and the menu could be improved to enhance the customer experience. The talented team put their imaginations and talents to work to develop a variety of new and creative culinary dishes.

This week, staff and visitors will have the opportunity to experience the new menu options offered at the Atrium Café. The exciting new options include:

  • A variety of healthy grab & go snacks (including Gluten free and vegan options)
  • Hot cereals and yogurt parfaits
  • Specialty pastries baked on site
  • Assorted salads and grain bowls
  • Four soup options each day
  • Signature wraps and bistro sandwiches
  • Daily pizza features
  • A new Starbucks hot beverage machine

For those who start their day with the popular “ST-EGGIE” breakfast sandwich, rest assured. It isn’t going anywhere! The expanded menu also includes tasty entrée features such as: Roasted Vegetable Poutine, Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas, Butternut Squash Ravioli, Buffalo Cauliflower Bites, and Lake Erie Perch Fish & Chips… to name a few. There will also be a daily vegetarian entrée option available.

The hospital has established partnerships with community food producers and is committed to offering fresh, local products and ingredients when possible. Local selections include Living Alive Granola, Las Chicas and Streamliners Espresso coffee products, Kosuma Energy Bars, and more! In addition, the majority of packaging used in the Café is compostable, biodegradable, or recyclable. “It is extremely important to us that we do our part to eliminate landfill waste by reducing the environmental impact of our packaging,” says Steve Wright, Director, Building Services. “Our Food Services team has conducted a lot of research to source eco-friendly products that will meet the needs of our customers.”

STEGH Food Services has additional projects planned for this year. “Food Services has a goal to increase the amount of local food offered on our new cafeteria menu to 40 per cent,” says Shannon McHugh, Manager, Patient and Retail Food Services. “We’re also planning to establish local onsite farmer’s markets, as well as research the viability of onsite food gardens. Additionally, we will be developing a Healthy Food Policy. These initiatives align with Canada’s Green Hospital Scorecard benchmarking objectives. We’re excited to take what we learn from our retail project and transfer that to our patient menu improvement project that will begin in April.”

MEDIA IS INVITED TO SAMPLE THE NEW MENU

On Thursday, March 5, the corporate chef from Nestle Foods will be onsite, along with Kosuma Energy Bars from St. Thomas to offer samples of their products. Stop by and experience the new Atrium Café at STEGH.

11:00 – noon
Atrium Café (South Building)