Nobody wants to end up in the hospital, let alone have to worry about the kind of food they’ll be served there. Of course, you can’t expect a five-star menu, but you’d hope that the meals are decent enough to help you get through your (hopefully) short visit.
Well, that’s somewhat the case, as you’ll see from these pictures taken from the ‘Rate My Hospital Plate’ Facebook group. This interesting community has over 100k members who’ve shared diverse photos of the food they were served in medical institutions.
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Last Day (4) In Fulwood Hall Hospital
Preston in England. It's a private hospital close to where I live.
Load More Replies...This is a private UK hospital. The patient will have paid a lot of money to have whatever treatment they required here.
Addenbrookes Sunday Roast
It's My Wife Who Is In Hospital, Furness General, This Was Her Dinner Yesterday
This looks surprisingly good for hospital food. When they removed my wisdom teeth, when I finally re-surfaced the food was beyond edible!
Not all food served at medical institutions is good, even though that might seem incredibly contradictory. Studies have found that hospital malnutrition affects around 30-50% of patients worldwide due to the nutrition decline they may experience during their stay.
It’s important to understand that hospitals often operate on strict budgets and are already scrambling to cope with emergencies. In the midst of all that chaos, it may be tough for them to keep up the highest food and nutritional standards for their patients.
That’s why the ‘Rate My Hospital Plate’ group doesn’t exist to shame medical institutions, it’s more of a fun initiative where patients can find support and connect with one another. People even write kind words in the comments to help improve the morale of posters who are sick.
Meat And Potato Pie, Chips And Green Beans @ Barnsley Hospital
These people are lucky, this food is more than I the whole four days I was in hospital. All I had in four days , was two soups in disposable cups, three yogurts with a banana for breakfasts, and a few bottles of water. I wasn't even offered a meal, in four days
I'm told that Barnsley hospital offers a choice of 5 different curries.
Not a damn thing wrong with that. I'd MUCH rather have multiple kinds of potatoes than random vegetables and other junk alongside my meat. (Random being disgusting junk like beets, pickles, or 90% of the greens that people claim to like.)
Load More Replies...Who cares if there's "not a lot" of vegetables? Green beans are great, potatoes are delicious and it looks like it would taste great!
Load More Replies...Tea Time At NGH [Northern General Hospital] Sheffield
Hospital Dinner New York City, USA
I'll take the chicken, applesauce, ? Tangerine and roll. They can keep the nasty Mac n cheese and greens. I'm a US southern girl and have always hated them.
Yes, it looks like the plate and utensils are disposable. For your second question, it appears to be a barbecued chicken quarter, macaroni and cheese, some kind of greens (collard greens, maybe), a roll, an orange, milk. I'm not sure what that is in those two cups under the roll, maybe peaches?
Load More Replies...Considering the budget constraints and the already massive strain on medical facilities, experts suggest that hospitals can improve food quality by first providing less processed foods. If they partner with local businesses, they can find healthier take-out options or even fresher meals.
Doctors and nurses can also encourage patients to bring home-cooked meals if their circumstances allow it. Medical institutions should try to provide more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Even if they can’t meet all of these criteria, a few small changes can drastically help patient health and recovery during their stay.
St James Hospital, Leeds
That's one sandwich cut in an X to make little sandwiches.
Load More Replies...My mum has been in hospital since Saturday. Her dinner tonight was what looked to be beef and barley soup, a chicken salad sandwich, and some barely tepid water for tea. She ate maybe half the soup, flatly refused the sandwich, and didn’t want to talk about the “tea”. How do you expect people to get better if you don’t feed them properly?
A Compilation From When I Was On The Antenatal Ward At Lincoln County
Doesn't look bad, but I really dislike having my salad on the same plate as the main.
This Was My Wife's Tea Last Night. Fgh [Furness General Hospital]
I'll take a salad any day with 1000 island, honey mustard or Italian/vinegarette
There are some hospitals that go above and beyond for their patients’ health. In 2018, the UC Davis Medical Center hired a local chef to manage a new initiative called ‘farm-to-fork.’ They prioritized serving locally grown plant-based meals to improve nutrition. The program, which is still in place today, even won a James Beard Foundation award.
This kind of initiative shows that the people in charge of medical institutions have the power to make changes that can benefit their patients and staff. They just need to develop innovative ways of making that a reality.
Day 4 At RDH [Royal Darwin Hospital]
That looks like goulash. I'd like some of my mom's goulash right now...
Beef Dinner Qe Gateshead
The quality here is about what I would expect to see in any American hospital: overcooked carrots, looks like boxed mashed potatoes, extremely gross broccoli and an unidentifiable, tiny slice of overcooked meat. The Yorkshire pudding and gravy are probably the only two things that would save the dinner.
It's a Yorkshire pudding not an onion ring. Not sure what you think is shrimp but only meat gravy and veg plus two roast potatoes. Doesn't look great. Not very appetising.
Load More Replies...Royal Berkshire Hospital In Reading
Again, drowned in gravy. I love gravy, but dayum that's way too much! imo
Not sure what you are looking at but there is no skin on those potatoes
Load More Replies...If you’ve been admitted to the hospital, the meals being served will probably be the last thing on your list of worries. What you’ve got to understand is that eating nutritious food can help your body recover faster and gain strength.
In case your hospital meals aren’t up to par, here are a few things you can do to take control of what you’re eating:
- If the hospital has a menu system, check with the staff or dieticians if they can provide you with healthier substitutes of what’s being served.
- Get home-cooked meals delivered, but before doing this, ask permission from the clinician in charge.
- Check for better meal plans that provide more vegetables, nuts, high-carb food, and protein.
Chicken Casserole Rosties And Veg Pgi (Pinderfields General Hospital,wakefield)
So far all of them seem to be on ceramic plates except one US entry.
Load More Replies...Royal Berkshire Hospital In Reading
Meat and two veg has been a staple of meals for generations (potatoes are essentially filling up and left over space
Load More Replies...I'll take the potatoes and garlic bread. I don't know what that slop is in the middle and the big chunks of cooked tomatoes .. puke
Spent A Week In Warwick Hospital I'm Gluten Free And Have To Say The Food Was Lovely, Even Had Gluten Free Bread For Breakfast
Baked potato, cheese and beans is a gourmet meal. I actually did that for myself at home obe evening last week. TBF I was on soft food only after some dental work, but it was bloody lovely, beans spiced up nicely.
Load More Replies...I don’t eat cheese but I’d happily eat the rest of that. It’s the first meat free meal I’ve seen in this list and nothing wrong with beans. 💕
Who cares? What tastes good is far more important-- and this would clearly taste good
Load More Replies...If you’re a gourmet, hospital food may not be for you. Based on these pictures, I think we’d be able to scarf down most of these meals, while some would have to be reserved for folks with braver stomachs.
Which of the photos on this list did you like the best, and which one shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments, and do share if you have hospital food stories of your own.
Stoke Royal
Some Of My Trays From A Recent Hospital Stay This Month In Ontario
A Sunday Lunch Darlington Hospital
Aint nothing tastes better than tomato water with a side of i don't know what that is but id probably eat it and love it because im a human garbage can and i have no dignity
I have no dignity either when it comes to food, but I also cannot cannot cannot do cream tomato soup. It is always made with water. My partner won't even watch me eat it. LOL
Load More Replies...I'm not sure if that's tomato or minestrone. Tomato soup doesn't usually have bits in it.
That's not an onion ring. It's Yorkshire pudding.
Load More Replies...Dinner At Loma Linda Univ Hospital
Just looking at this makes my mouth dry. That grey container better be the gravy!
Creamy Chicken Casserole…. Vile Qe Birmingham
A Very Old Picture Of A Chicken Dinner I Undoubtedly Didn't Pay For When I Worked In Macclesfield Hospital Kitchen
Can't beat the price. I'm always surprised at how picky some folks can be. This looks filling and good.
Chicken Hotpot, Carrots & Chips. Royal Hallamshire, Sheffield
The potatoes on the hotpot are supposed to be golden and crispy. Did they even cook this one?
Chicken hotpot? Where’s the hotpot and soup lmfao?? Like that’s just chicken
Maybe hotpot means something different where you are from, this is what British hotpot is: https://www.slimmingworld.co.uk/recipes/chicken-hotpot It can also vary by county. This hotpot looks gross though.
Load More Replies...Currently In Gloucestershire Hospital In Maternity
Very Tasty Mac N Cheese At Barnet Royal Free
Been In Rah Paisley For Over A Week Tbf These Meals Are Actually Lovely Occasionally
Lunch At Loma Linda Univ Hospital
Partner's Meal At Russells Hall Hospital Amu Ward🤢
Beef Cobbler From My Stint In Aberdeen (Ari).....when Did They Get Their Michelin Stars
Brown IS the color meat is supposed to be when it's coked and there's nothing wrong with potatoes
Load More Replies...Breakfast At Loma Linda Univ Hospital
Loma Linda has all-vegetarian food because they are 7th Day Adventist. My best friend was just there for 10 days and was very satisfied with the food choices.
Qe Hospital Gateshead. Finest Jacket Potato Known To Man
Where's the sour cream? You need cheese sauce not shredded. Bacon bits!
Todays Lunch At St Peter’s Hospital 😂🫣
Very kind of them to get a head start on the digestion process for their patients.
Dinner Time At NGH [Northern General Hospital] Sheffield
Bristol Eye Hospital
Pretty sure that plate passed through an operating room at picked up discards on the way.
Qe Hospital Burger
Just needs some ketchup... couple of bottles should be about enough.
Load More Replies...Nhs Ipswich Hospital I Ordered Apple Rhubarb Crumble
The picture looks like tomato sauce and cheese. I keep looking at it trying to figure out why/how it looks like this with the ingredients one would presume to be required for apple-rhubarb crumble. Maybe it’s just a very bad picture.
Load More Replies...Lovely Food At Grimsby Hospital
This Morning At Whiston
No Words Westmead Hospital Sydney Australia
Lunch At Whiston
Maybe that's what they asked for? When I was in the ICU last year (in the US) I had a whole menu to choose from. I wasn't really hungry so a few times I just had them bring me toast or a bagel. Also, does egg mayonnaise mean egg salad?
Bri Hospital 30th December 2023
Ayy that's was my 30th birthday! Although it does not look like you had nearly as much fun as I did.. 😅☹️
Guy I knew had the nurse ask if he wanted pheasant. He got really excited about lunch! Then learned that "bazant" (literally pheasant) is also the Czech term for a hospital portable urinal. Now that's what I call a disappointing hospital meal.
Some of these I don't know if they are supposed to be tasty or nasty, because some look quite boring but on the other hand could be really tasty! 🤷♂️🙃
There's really only a couple that I _think_ are supposed to be really bad. I've certainly had a lot worse than most of these.
Load More Replies...The hospital here has good food. There's a menu you can order from, or you can just get the default meal. I've stayed there three times in three years, and have liked everything I've ordered, even though I'm extremely picky.
Whty do people expect restaurant quality food in hospital? As long as it offers nutrition, then don't moan (unless you're a private patient then you can moan as much as you like).
People have the right to expect food that tastes decent. It won't be restaraunt quality, but no one should be expected to eat anything that's extremely boring, bland, dry and would be far more appropriate in a nursing home than elsewhere. Hell, cardboard has nutrients in the form of fiber; I'd rather choke down a cardboard box than eat unseasoned, mushy trash.
Load More Replies...When I was in hospital (in the UK) earlier this year, the food was decidedly ok. A lot better than it used to be, not great. Though I do have to give a hat tip to the surprisingly good fish and chips I had before I left. But mostly it was bland and obviously pre-prepared. The biggest issues though was the portion size, which was tiny, and the overall lack of vegetables. I couldn't eat the desserts as I am diabetic, so all my calories came from a child size plate of bland, nutrition-free food.
I noticed that most of these meals seem to be from U.K. hospitals. My last few hospital stays have been for day ops. That means I’ve not been on a ward where a meals are served but, in acknowledgement of having fasted since the night before, I’ve been offered a choice of takeaway sandwiches. That doesn’t sound great but when you’ve been fasting for 15 hours or so you don’t want a full meal, they’ve been very nice and since it’s not something I have often it has a great deal of novelty value. I love the NHS!
Load More Replies...They all look pretty bad. However, toast and tea in all Uk hospitals is absolutely lovely, so there is some good there.
NHS food has always been pretty good; I was a social worker with elderly people and my clients generally loved the food. The most interesting hospital Mel I ever had was when I was on a prenatal ward in the 80s. The system was that patients ordered meals one day to be eaten the next. The day you were admitted you usually got the meal ordered by someone who’d been discharged; the alternative was a sandwich but on the whole it worked well. The person whose meal i got was seriously keen on potatoes; jacket with cheese, mash and chips!
Load More Replies...I was in the hospital and the food was not bad at all. However I had to go to a nursing facility when I got out of the hospital because I live alone and the food was a real mixed bag. Some of it was very tasty, some of it was garbage but it tended to be VERY small portions. Also this one insane nurse screamed at me for not eating or drinking certain things (coffee, strawberry ice cream, jello, etc.)
Because jello is the caviar of gelatin and full of crucial nutrients. 🙄 Sarcasm aside, WTF and how does screaming at someone for not eating/drinking certain foods help their recovery?!
Load More Replies...Guy I knew had the nurse ask if he wanted pheasant. He got really excited about lunch! Then learned that "bazant" (literally pheasant) is also the Czech term for a hospital portable urinal. Now that's what I call a disappointing hospital meal.
Some of these I don't know if they are supposed to be tasty or nasty, because some look quite boring but on the other hand could be really tasty! 🤷♂️🙃
There's really only a couple that I _think_ are supposed to be really bad. I've certainly had a lot worse than most of these.
Load More Replies...The hospital here has good food. There's a menu you can order from, or you can just get the default meal. I've stayed there three times in three years, and have liked everything I've ordered, even though I'm extremely picky.
Whty do people expect restaurant quality food in hospital? As long as it offers nutrition, then don't moan (unless you're a private patient then you can moan as much as you like).
People have the right to expect food that tastes decent. It won't be restaraunt quality, but no one should be expected to eat anything that's extremely boring, bland, dry and would be far more appropriate in a nursing home than elsewhere. Hell, cardboard has nutrients in the form of fiber; I'd rather choke down a cardboard box than eat unseasoned, mushy trash.
Load More Replies...When I was in hospital (in the UK) earlier this year, the food was decidedly ok. A lot better than it used to be, not great. Though I do have to give a hat tip to the surprisingly good fish and chips I had before I left. But mostly it was bland and obviously pre-prepared. The biggest issues though was the portion size, which was tiny, and the overall lack of vegetables. I couldn't eat the desserts as I am diabetic, so all my calories came from a child size plate of bland, nutrition-free food.
I noticed that most of these meals seem to be from U.K. hospitals. My last few hospital stays have been for day ops. That means I’ve not been on a ward where a meals are served but, in acknowledgement of having fasted since the night before, I’ve been offered a choice of takeaway sandwiches. That doesn’t sound great but when you’ve been fasting for 15 hours or so you don’t want a full meal, they’ve been very nice and since it’s not something I have often it has a great deal of novelty value. I love the NHS!
Load More Replies...They all look pretty bad. However, toast and tea in all Uk hospitals is absolutely lovely, so there is some good there.
NHS food has always been pretty good; I was a social worker with elderly people and my clients generally loved the food. The most interesting hospital Mel I ever had was when I was on a prenatal ward in the 80s. The system was that patients ordered meals one day to be eaten the next. The day you were admitted you usually got the meal ordered by someone who’d been discharged; the alternative was a sandwich but on the whole it worked well. The person whose meal i got was seriously keen on potatoes; jacket with cheese, mash and chips!
Load More Replies...I was in the hospital and the food was not bad at all. However I had to go to a nursing facility when I got out of the hospital because I live alone and the food was a real mixed bag. Some of it was very tasty, some of it was garbage but it tended to be VERY small portions. Also this one insane nurse screamed at me for not eating or drinking certain things (coffee, strawberry ice cream, jello, etc.)
Because jello is the caviar of gelatin and full of crucial nutrients. 🙄 Sarcasm aside, WTF and how does screaming at someone for not eating/drinking certain foods help their recovery?!
Load More Replies...
