FOOD FOR THE HOSPITAL

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25741, 1 March 1949, Page 3

FOOD FOR THE HOSPITAL

Big Quantity Needed Each Year tenders called for supply Last year 113,7431 b of meat, 19.299 dozen eggs, 17,0611 b of butter, 21,554 i oa ves of bread. 58.705 gallons of milk, and 109,9241 b of potatoes were used at Christchurch Hospital, excluding the nurses' home. These figures give an idea of the huge consumption of food at the hospital. The North Canterbury Hospital Board is now calling for tenders for the supply of some of the food items for the hospital and other Christchurch institutions which it controls. Tenders, closing on March 11, are sought for aerated waters, wines and spirits, bread, meat and small goods, fish, poultry, disinfectants, and floor P °There are usually between 400 and 550 patients in the Christchurch Hospital every day who have to be supplied with food from the kitchen of the hospital, and many of them are on .special diets, all of which have to be prepared separately. In addition, supplies are needed for the nurses’ home, the tuberculosis institutions at Cashmere. the Burwood Hospital, the Essex Home, the Queen’s Jubilee Memorial Home, and the children’s home at Waltham. The hospital has its own garden at Marshland which supplies almost all its vegetables, and nearly all the other hospitals and institutions have smaller garden plots. Some of the country hospitals controlled by the board grow all their own vegetables. The Marshland garden from April of last year to January of this year grew 11.0731 b of tomatoes and 8541 b of cucumbers for the hospital. The first crop has finished, but the farm manager hopes to have another ready before April. Patients in the Christchurch Hospital receive more eggs, milk, and potatoes than those in most other New Zealand hospitals, but less meat, butter, and bread. The diet of the hospital is designed to maintain a high standard of protective foods (eggs and milk), and the supply of potatoes and bread is planned because of the higher food value of potatoes. Unlike some other hospitals, the Christchurch Hospital supplies a cooked breakfast for all patients. In the year ended March 31, 1948. provisions cost the hospital board £37.572 16s 2d. The percentage of cost of the various supplies was:—meat 18.9. fish and poultry 10.9, butter 5, milk 13.1. eggs 8.4. bread and cereals 4.7, fruit and vegetables 13.5, and groceries and general 25.5