American hospital food is fast improving
More doctors are taking nutrition seriously
![Mandatory Credit: Photo by David Goldman/AP/Shutterstock (11756920a)Pauline Sorrow, 71, left, is served lunch by certified nursing assistant Princess Makor while sharing the 'honeymoon suite' with her husband Peter, 62, as they both recover from COVID-19 at a field hospital set up to handle a surge of COVID-19 patients, in Cranston, R.I. "We're inspiration for each other," said Peter of being able to recover next to her in what staff calls 'the honeymoon suit'. "Just being here cheered her up." He now helps care for her: opening a stubborn lid on her lunch, cleaning a spot of food off her gown, updating their familyVirus Outbreak Field Hospital Photo Essay, Cranston, United States - 10 Feb 2021](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/media-assets/image/20220910_USP005.jpg)
Few sick people consider the quality of the food when choosing a hospital. That is perhaps just as well. Even in America, a country where private hospitals have long provided individual rooms with such comforts as personal cable television, patients are often still fed institutional food. “Mystery meat” and processed-cheese slices are common; everything gets cooked in a microwave. Many of the country’s biggest hospitals get their food from the likes of Aramark, a giant global caterer that also provides meals to schools and prisons.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “The best medicine”
United States September 10th 2022
- The Democrats are likely to lose the House but keep the Senate
- A water crisis in Mississippi’s capital is a harbinger of worse
- American hospital food is fast improving
- The demise of Roe v Wade has fired up the Democrats
- More American prisoners are receiving a tech-based education
- Joe Biden and Donald Trump agree on one thing
More from United States
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240921_USP701.jpg)
Who is Ryan Routh, Donald Trump’s would-be assassin?
His 291-page screed on Ukraine’s “unwinnable war” offers some clues
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240921_AMP701.jpg)
Another attempt to kill Trump raises fears of political violence
Republicans and Democrats must again try to avoid politicising a failed assassination
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240914_USP515.jpg)
The never-Trump movement has leaders. What about followers?
For some dissident Republicans, backing Kamala Harris seems a step too far
Checks and Balance newsletter: Why can’t politicians just admit when they’re wrong?
Recalling the case of the Central Park Five
Ginni Thomas, battle-hardened conservative and bugaboo of Democrats
Clarence Thomas’s wife is back in the news for supporting a group opposed to stricter ethics rules for the Supreme Court
Democratic control of the Senate depends on a seven-fingered farmer
Can Jon Tester win again in Montana?