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Check Your Health- Beyond the Typical Hospital Food Tray: Making Food Part of Healthcare
Fri, August 28, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Check Your Health- Food As Part of Healthcare
Across Intermountain Health, food is part of care. And behind every hospital tray, café meal, seasonal side, and sweet treat is a team thinking about nutrition, comfort, taste, cost, sustainability, local sourcing and the experience of the patients, employees and guests who are served
Nine facts about the food served at Intermountain Health
1.Intermountain cafés serve thousands of meals every day
Intermountain Health currently operates 38 cafés that serve about 35,000 meals each day
Intermountain serves meals for patients, caregivers, and guests at 33 hospitals and five other service sites across Utah and into Idaho, Montana and Colorado
Hospital cafés are open to the public, too. Anyone can stop in for a meal, snack, coffee, or dessert
2.The café menus offer something for many tastes
“We treat our dining venues like restaurants and our hospitals like hotels with constantly changing menus that evolve to meet current industry trends, seasonality, and the preferences of our diverse clientele. Our on-site chefs and culinarians are empowered to submit their own recipes to our ever-growing collection and create their own menus,” said Christopher Delissio, enterprise executive chef at Intermountain Health
Build-your-own meals are some of the most popular options at Intermountain cafés. Guests can choose their favorite add-ins and flavors with meals like build-your-own curry bowls, ramen bowls, and street tacos. Patient menus include a wide range of choices, too. One standout is a plant-based gyro with vegan tzatziki sauce – a creative option that brings fresh flavor to a familiar favorite
3.More than 5000 recipes and menus that change with the seasons
Like any good restaurant, Intermountain cafés are always introducing fresh ideas
Intermountain Health teams build menus from a central recipe collection with more than 5,400 recipes, from crisp green salads to warm chili and cornbread, to gourmet meat entrées to delicious brownies and desserts
Twice a year, culinary leaders across Intermountain Health share feedback on the patient menu. Nutrition leaders review what’s working and what needs to change. They consider taste, nutrition, cost, operations, and ingredient availability. The goal is to serve food that people enjoy and that works well across a large health system
Intermountain cafés also rotate through four seasonal side menus developed and tested by Delissio
One insider tip: try the summer Moroccan carrots and root vegetables before they rotate out for fall favorites
4.Meals at Intermountain Health are made in-house
Intermountain Health has a full culinary team, based in-house that works closely with dietitians to create meals that are nutritious, minimally processed, and made with care
“All of our food and nutrition services are run in-house by us at Intermountain Health. We do not contract out to other food service companies or use large amounts of pre-made foods. Our goal is to always provide meals that are made from scratch whenever possible and use quality ingredients with clean labels,” said Delissio
5.Intermountain chefs are nationally recognized
Intermountain Health chefs bring serious skill to the kitchen. Recently, Joseph Westley, an executive chef in the Denver area, and Roberto Rodriguez, executive sous chef in the Salt Lake area, were bothfinalists in the Association for Healthcare Foodservice culinary competition
Chef Christopher Delissio also won a national competition for recipe development and menu concepts through the Kitchen Collaborative, competing with chefs from top restaurants and resorts. Their work helps shows healthcare food can be thoughtful, creative, and full of flavor
6.Ingredients are used in smart, creative ways
Good food also means using reingredients across several dishes. This helps reduce waste, manage costs, and make kitchen work more efficient. It’s a practical approach that also keeps menus more interesting
“We try to use proteins in different ways,” said Chef Alex Govern, senior director of nutrition services. “We have a lemon rosemary roasted pork shoulder that’s a hearty homestyle entree. And then we take that same pork and make tacos with it and use it in a pulled pork BBQ sandwich.”
“As a hospital we are here to give people comfort in trying times and we certainly serve some comfort food items, but we also look to innovate and think outside the box to deliver something for everyone and surprise our guests with the unexpected,” said Delissio
“Did you know that you can make a delicious, whipped desert topping from the liquid in a can of chick peas? That liquid is called the aquafaba and we have some recipes that use it!” he added
7.Food waste can support local farms and communities
Nutrition Services works to reduce food waste by planning carefully and finding new uses for ingredients. Still, some leftover or expired food is part of food service
Several Intermountain café locations in Utah and Colorado send food waste to local farmers for compost
Since 2019, Intermountain Health’s efforts have helped divert more than 383,000 pounds of food waste from landfills
8.Local produce and local vendor partners play an important role in what’s on the menu
Seasonal menus help our teams use produce when it’s fresh and easier toble, such as squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and onions grown by local farmers
Buying local supports nearby farms and helps keep money in the communities Intermountain serves. It also helps bring fresher ingredients to Intermountain kitchens
Intermountain Health looks for chances to work with local vendors whenever possible
Current vendors include Park City Coffee Roasters and Wandering Roasters. Intermountain cafés also serve treats from Utah-based JulieAnn Caramels and Ritual Chocolate. Bacon comes from Montana-based Daily’s Meats
9.Patients are treated like guests
At Intermountain Health, culinary teams think of patients as guests. A thoughtful meal can bring comfort, support healing, and help someone feel cared for – especially if they’ve just gone something extremely hard
“When we serve nutritious food executed with excellence, patients heal faster,” said Govern. “Their outlook is better, and the way they perceive their medical care is improved. We get to make these incredible impacts with our food every single day.”
“We treat our hospitals like hotels and our patients and caregivers like our guests. Food is medicine and food is memories. As culinarians we have a chance to offer our guests a healing escape from a difficult day,” said Delissio
That’s why food at Intermountain Health is more than what’s on the plate. It’s one more way to help people live the healthiest lives possible – through care that reaches beyond the hospital bed and into the everyday moments that help people feel better
To find out more about what’s on the menu, visit an Intermountain Health café. For more information about working in nutrition services at Intermountain Health café, visit the careers page at intermountainhealth.org
For more information about the in-person and virtual consultations available from dietitians visit the nutrition services page atintermountainhealth.org
