Skip to main content

Get Involved in Veganuary 2023 with NHS Supply Chain: Food

21 December 2022

NHS Supply Chain: Food is encouraging everyone in the NHS family to get involved in Veganuary 2023!

Are you up for the challenge?

Veganuary aims to encourage people to try a vegan diet, or even make some vegan meal or snack swaps throughout the month of January each year.

NHS Supply Chain: Food is supporting people with this journey, with a host of recipe cards, featuring simple, tasty, easy-to-prepare plant-based meals.  

Veganuary Image Sized For Social Media

Sharing recipes far and wide

NHS Supply Chain: Food have shared 11 new plant-based recipes that can be cooked at home or in a trust. The recipes are equally suitable for patients, staff and visitors.

The recipes will also be shared weekly via the NHS Supply Chain LinkedIn page. Colleagues and trusts will be encouraged to cook the recipes and share photos of the dishes they have prepared. We’d love to see which of the vegan dishes you’ve been trying, so share a photo of your finished dish on LinkedIn with the hashtag #Veganuary2023 and tag NHS Supply Chain.

We will also be resharing posts from NHS Supply Chain: Food’s Culinary Specialist, Michael Sharp, who will be posting photos of the dishes he has cooked on his own LinkedIn profile page.  

Packing a plant-based punch

Every dish we feature will pack a plant-based punch, without compromising on taste or texture.

With the latest publication of the National Standards for Healthcare Food and Drink, NHS Supply Chain: Food supports its renewed focus on sustainability, procurement, and the reduction of food waste.   

Veganuary is an important concept for NHS Supply Chain: Food as the meals destined for patients (as well as hospital staff and visitors) are one of the most impactful parts of our environmental footprint. Eating more plantbased foods is one of the simplest, yet most effective ways to be kinder to the planet and our frameworks support this agenda.

Moving towards a more plant-based style of eating can help to contribute towards long-term health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, and a reduced risk of heart disease. It’s an easy and cost-effective approach to improving health outcomes on a widespread scale. We are always seeking new opportunities to promote variety and the healthiness of options across all our frameworks. Whether it is the Direct Ready Prepared Meals framework for patients on wards, or options from our Cold Beverages and Snacks framework, we ensure the meal and snack options are healthy, sustainable, and cost-effective for patients, staff and visitors.

Idrees Anwar, Lead Dietician, NHS Supply Chain: Food
Root Kitchen Burger

Our Commitment

NHS Supply Chain: Food is making a commitment to increase plant-based components in trust’ hospital menus, with a variety of plant-based options available, appropriate for both vegetarian and vegan lifestyles.

Plant-based food choices are becoming more common in our weekly food options at home, and this also applies within hospitals. More and more plant-based products are becoming available every day, with growing knowledge on how to deliver flavoursome and rich plant-based meals.

Michael Sharp, Culinary Specialist, NHS Supply Chain: Food

Other nutritional support

For trusts, your local Food Account Manager can also refer you to NHS Supply Chain: Food’s Dietetics Team, who can advise about the provision of vegan meals for any nutritionally well and nutritionally vulnerable patients. Contacting the dietetics team is highly recommended to discuss the options available for trusts.