Press Release

July 6, 2005
Eileen Shields, Public Information Officer, 415/554-2507

San Francisco General Hospital Launches New Healthy Options at Cafeteria

Program to Help Staff, Patients and Visitors Stay “Energy Balanced”

San Francisco, CA—It’s a frustration that happens hundreds of times each day. A tired and worried patron pushes a tray along the cafeteria line at San Francisco General Hospital, musing, “What do I want to eat? What should I eat? The grilled chicken sandwich looks good. But is it good for me? ….trying to watch my calories and stay away from so much salt….”

What if there were a sign on the food that said, “Pick me! I have less than 500 calories, I’m low in saturated fat and easy on the sodium.”?

On Tuesday, July 7th, that is precisely what will begin happening at San Francisco General Hospital cafeteria. “Energy Balance”—a new labeling program designed to help visitors, patients and staff make informed choices at the cafeteria line—will make its debut with great fanfare and a cast of Public Health cheerleaders and sponsors. The main goal of the campaign is to provide cafeteria patrons with information that will help them make informed dietary choices by providing labels on all of the food items that answer the following questions: “How many calories, how much saturated fat and how much sodium are contained in the cafeteria selections?”

Cafeteria selections that contain less than 500 calories, 7 % saturated fat and 1,000 mg of sodium will be awarded an “Energy Balance” logo. By using this information in combination with education on balancing calorie consumption and exercise, cafeteria patrons have a good foundation to build on a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their families at work and at home.

Rebecca Hoffman, a Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Consultant, worked for four months with cafeteria staff and SFGH administration to create and design the City’s first point of selection food labeling program that health officials hope will be duplicated throughout the City. One of the surprising findings of Ms. Hoffman’s research revealed that many medical students and residents eat three or more meals every day at the hospital’s cafeteria. Visitors whose family or loved ones are hospitalized also consume many of their meals at the cafeteria. “We want people to begin to think of food intake in the same way they approach a checkbook,” Ms. Hoffman explained. “You consume a number of calories each day and, depending on your needs and activity level, you also burn calories. The goal is to have the numbers coming in match the numbers going out if you want to maintain your present weight. Just as over-spending results in an empty checkbook, overeating will result in a weight gain. It’s all about balance.”

The Energy Balance kick off event is scheduled for July 7, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. A special program is planned for 12:15 p.m. at the San Francisco General Hospital Cafeteria, Second Floor, 1001 Potrero Avenue. Ms. Hoffman will be joined by Dr. Mitch Katz, Director of Health and Dr. Donald Abrams, Chief, Hematology – Oncology and Professor of Clinical Medicine at SFGH.