Meritus Only Maryland Health System to Sign Healthy Food Pledge

Meritus, Brook Lane commit to building on long-running commitment to advancing patient nutrition, recovery and locally sourced food initiatives

Meritus Medical Center and Brook Lane are two of more than 250 hospitals in the nation and the only health system in Maryland to sign the Department of Health and Human Services voluntary pledge on healthy food.

The Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge asks hospitals to align patient food services with the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It also asks hospitals to ensure inpatient meals meet individual nutritional needs and support healing, recovery and long-term health.

In addition, it asks hospitals to provide accessible nutrition resources and education as part of discharge planning to help patients sustain healthy habits.

"Signing the pledge to serve our patients healthy food was a natural promise for us to make because serving health-aligned meals is something we already keep top-of-mind," said Josh Repac, Meritus Health chief financial officer. "And to ensure we're supporting our local economy, getting fresh foods and being sustainable, Meritus has partnered with Family Farm Direct, a local food distribution business, to buy about 30% of our fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, honey and other products from farms within 60 miles of our headquarters in Hagerstown."

Not only do patients and team members at the Meritus Health facilities benefit from healthy food, but the Food Farmacy program also uses the same food distribution business, thereby extending the benefits farther into the community. The Food Farmacy provides patients with chronic, diet-related conditions access to medically tailored nutritious foods as part of their treatment plan.

The pledge was announced during the American Hospital Association Annual Membership meeting in April. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted the program during a speech in Michigan on Oct. 26.

"Hospitals have a responsibility to promote health in every part of patient care, including the food they serve," Kennedy said. "More than 250 hospitals are taking action to improve nutrition for their patients, staff and communities. I am calling on every hospital in America to join them, sign the pledge, and help make healthy food a standard part of health care."

Also, the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine joined more than 50 medical schools across the country in March in a pledge to teach nutrition education. The goal is to better train physicians when it comes to nutrition by requiring every medical student to complete at least 40 hours of comprehensive nutrition education or competency equivalent before graduating.