© 2026 Canadian Malnutrition Task Force
Leading the Change: A Conversation with Experts Transforming Hospital Food
October 5, 2026 | 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
This webinar is brought to you by CMTF as part of Canadian Malnutrition Awareness Week™ October 5 - 9, 2026 "Lead The Change"
This webinar is presented in English / Ce webinaire sera présenté en Anglais.
Webinar description:
Food is Medicine, yet many hospitalized patients in Canada consume less than 50% of their estimated energy and protein requirements. Inadequate food intake during hospitalization increases the risk of malnutrition, leading to poorer patient outcomes, longer hospital stays, and greater healthcare costs. While the causes of poor intake are complex, patients frequently report dissatisfaction with food quality, limited menu choices, and barriers to accessing meals. At the same time, hospitals are facing increasing pressure to improve sustainability by incorporating more plant-based and locally sourced foods into their menus. Balancing these goals with rising food costs, budget constraints, and operational challenges requires innovative approaches to food service transformation.
Join us for an engaging discussion with leaders who are driving change in hospital food systems. Speaker Stephen Beckta will share lessons learned from The Ottawa Hospital's Quality Improvement Award-winning initiative to implement a whole-food, scratch-cooked menu designed to improve nutrient intake and patient dining experience. Attendees will learn how this patient-centred approach enhanced hospitality, improved sustainability, reduced food waste, and supported better nutrition outcomes. Drawing on pilot work, implementation experience, and emerging research from Vancouver General Hospital Dr. Annie Lalande will explore practical strategies for transitioning to more plant-rich hospital menus while maintaining nutritional quality, patient satisfaction, and cultural relevance.
Through a moderated conversation, participants will gain actionable insights and tools to engage interdisciplinary partners to lead the change in transforming hospital food to better support patient care, recovery, and health system sustainability.
This session is relevant to front line dietitians, food service managers, researchers and administrators and the public interested in transforming hospital food to improve patient satisfaction, sustainability of the food and enhanced nutrient intake.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the webinar, participants will:
- Become familiar with innovative approaches to improving the quality, sustainability, and patient-centredness of hospital food.
- Learn practical strategies for implementing whole-food, scratch-cooked and plant-forward menu models.
- Gain tools to engage stakeholders to lead change within hospital food systems
Speakers:
- Stephen Beckta, President, Beckta Restaurant Group
- Annie Lalande MD PhD, General Surgery resident, University of British Columbia
Moderator: To be confirmed
About the Speakers:
Stephen Beckta is the President of the Beckta Restaurant Group, which includes Beckta dining &
wine bar, Gezellig, and Curated By Beckta. He is an alumnus of Algonquin College’s Sommelier program, and managed the dining rooms and wine programs at two of New York City’s top restaurants: Café Boulud and Eleven Madison
Park, before returning to his native city of Ottawa to build his restaurant group. Stephen has been named to the Order of Canada, was named Top Independent Restaurateur by the Ontario Hostelry Institute, Outstanding Service Professional by Terroir Symposium, Restaurateur of the Year by ORHMA, and created “Canada’s Table”, a 1000-person dinner at a single table for Canada’s 150th Anniversary celebrations featuring 20 top chefs from across the country. Stephen was hired by The Ottawa Hospital to develop an innovative food service program to enhance patient nutrition and reduce recovery times, view 7-minute video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcvlTO899AU. Their 2025 trial won the Ontario Cancer Innovation Award, and they will scale this model for the entire hospital group in the near future.
Annie Lalande MD PhD - Dr. Annie Lalande is a fifth-year General Surgery resident at the University of British Columbia. She completed her medical degree at McGill University and earned her PhD in 2025 from the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC. Her doctoral research explored how hospital food systems can improve patient nutrition while advancing environmental sustainability. At Vancouver General Hospital, she evaluated baseline menu performance, identifying gaps in patient satisfaction, nutritional adequacy, and high levels of food waste, alongside the significant environmental impact of animal-based proteins. She then led the development and evaluation of a novel planetary health menu—featuring plant-forward, culturally diverse, and nutritionally balanced meals—which increased plant-based uptake, maintained high patient acceptability, and reduced food waste. Her work demonstrates that plant-rich diets can be successfully integrated into acute care settings, with co-benefits for patient care and climate mitigation.
About the Moderator:
To be confirmed
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