In hopes that inpatients can enjoy meals without worrying about foodstuffs, our hospital started buying more local fresh produce in January 2005 tuning in on the popular “Buy Local Produce” movement. We, employees of a hospital affiliated with the Federations of Agriculture Cooperatives for Health and Welfare, think it very important to support the movement, contribute to the improvement of the self-sufficiency in food and maintain good relationships with rural communities. The advantage of local produce is its safety. We can use it with a sense of security. At present, 10 farmers, who are members of the JA Isehara Co-op, deliver vegetables to the hospital. Initially, the hospital bought what they offered, but recently they grow vegetables of the kind the hospital wants. Now, local produce accounts for about 30% of the total value of the vegetables the hospital buys.However, prospects do not warrant any optimism, because the average age of the producers is 56 and it is not easy to increase the number of producers now. As far as items unavailable from the present producers are concerned, we have begun to buy these items from non-member farmers.

  In hopes that inpatients can enjoy meals without worrying about foodstuffs, our hospital started buying more local fresh produce in January 2005 tuning in on the popular “Buy Local Produce” movement. We, employees of a hospital affiliated with the Federations of Agriculture Cooperatives for Health and Welfare, think it very important to support the movement, contribute to the improvement of the self-sufficiency in food and maintain good relationships with rural communities. The advantage of local produce is its safety. We can use it with a sense of security. At present, 10 farmers, who are members of the JA Isehara Co-op, deliver vegetables to the hospital. Initially, the hospital bought what they offered, but recently they grow vegetables of the kind the hospital wants. Now, local produce accounts for about 30% of the total value of the vegetables the hospital buys.However, prospects do not warrant any optimism, because the average age of the producers is 56 and it is not easy to increase the number of producers now. As far as items unavailable from the present producers are concerned, we have begun to buy these items from non-member farmers.

  In hopes that inpatients can enjoy meals without worrying about foodstuffs, our hospital started buying more local fresh produce in January 2005 tuning in on the popular “Buy Local Produce” movement. We, employees of a hospital affiliated with the Federations of Agriculture Cooperatives for Health and Welfare, think it very important to support the movement, contribute to the improvement of the self-sufficiency in food and maintain good relationships with rural communities. The advantage of local produce is its safety. We can use it with a sense of security. At present, 10 farmers, who are members of the JA Isehara Co-op, deliver vegetables to the hospital. Initially, the hospital bought what they offered, but recently they grow vegetables of the kind the hospital wants. Now, local produce accounts for about 30% of the total value of the vegetables the hospital buys.However, prospects do not warrant any optimism, because the average age of the producers is 56 and it is not easy to increase the number of producers now. As far as items unavailable from the present producers are concerned, we have begun to buy these items from non-member farmers.

  The incidence of fever in children admitted to general hospitals is very high. Provision of adequate nutrition and fluid supplements to febrile children is very important, but with some children it is difficult to maintain an adequate intake. To address this problem, we devised a new ‘febrile children's menu’, utilizing preparation methods and foods to produce a palatable menu for patients with fever.
  We introduced this ‘febrile children's menu‘ on January 6, 2011, providing it to 109 patients (age range: 1 to 8 years, average age: 3.3±1.9 years) over the ensuing 3-month period. We provided a mean 4.0±2.9 meals per day to each patient during their febrile stage (≥37.5°C). To evaluate the usefulness of the ‘febrile children's menu’, we investigated eating rates during the febrile period in all patients who had been provided with the menu, and performed a questiomaire survey on their parents/guardians. The mean eating rates during the febrile period were 39±30% for main meals, and 28±22% for side dishes. No significant difference was seen in the eating rates during the febrile period recorded over the 2-month period prior to introduction of the new menu to 112 febrile children (age range: 1 to 8 years, average age: 3.3±2.1 years), 39±30% for main meals, and 29±22% for side dishes. The questionnaire survey was responded by 43 parents/guardians (a recovery rate of 39%). The ‘febrile children's menu’ was assessed as ‘good’ by 67% of respondents, representing an overall favourable impression from the parents/guardians. With reference to the survey results, we will attempt to further improve the ‘febrile children's menu’ with the aim of increasing eating rates during the febrile period.

  In recent years, changes in Japanese dietary habits have been associated with the increased incidence of obesity and lifestyle diseases even among children. Dietary education is considered essential for stemming this trend. In this study, we introduced the following initiative in dietary education for children admitted to hospital and their parents from the standpoint of health care workers providing meals to inpatients. We added a ‘Children's Lunch’ to the menu. Designed for the fussy children, it was a nutritionally balanced meal. On traditional seasonal festival days, we wrote an introduction to Japanese seasonal cuisine and showed it to the children. To the parents, we distributed a regular weekly pamphlet outlining the importance of dietary education, with an explanation of the ingredients used in the meals, and recipes.  To assess the results of this initiative, we conducted a questionnaire survey of parents on a weekly basis. The results of the surveys (n=215, recovery rate 87%) taken during the first three months showed that the majority of parents rated all four aspects of the ‘Children's Lunch’ high menu content, presentation, child's response, and the pamphlet contents. The parents displayed a deep interest in our activity, because 93% of those parents said that they were impressed with dietary education. On the other hand, some dietary problems were identified, with tendencies to use only ingredients preferred by the children, and eat out often.  This was a short term initiative, limited to hospitalization, but we were cwetain that we had been able to provide an opportunity for parents to think about their children's diets. We plan to continue this initiative, thereby making a contribution to dietary education for children.