Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39143806›Full record

Observational studyNutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia2025

Quantifying the locality of the food supply in a large healthcare organisation.

Jennifer Utter, Frances Mole, Henrietta Johnston, Sally McCray

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Quantifying the locality of the food supply in a large healthcare organisation.Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia · 2025
    Observational
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Jennifer UtterDietetics Department, Mater Health, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-9472-5595
Frances MoleFaculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, Queensland, Australia.
Henrietta JohnstonFaculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, Queensland, Australia.
Sally McCrayDietetics Department, Mater Health, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-3999-6856

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimShocks to the food system (such as extreme weather events, wars, and pandemics) are felt by institutional food systems. For hospitals, these shocks affect the quantity, quality, and variety of foods that can be offered to patients. One strategy to buffer the hospital food supply from external threats is to prioritise ingredients produced locally. Thus, the aim of the current research is to describe the country of origin of all foods purchased by a large, metropolitan healthcare organisation and to identify opportunities for improving the locality of the food supply.

methodsThis study was of a cross-sectional, observational design. The country of origin for all foods procured over a 1-year period by a large, urban healthcare organisation was determined by proportion of food budget spend. State of origin was identified for fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat. The organisation was in Queensland, Australia and utilised a cook-fresh, room-service foodservice model. Descriptive analysis was used to to determine the number of items and the proportion of budget spend on all foods produced in Australia, and by food category. Similar descriptive statistics were generated to determine the proportion of the budget spend on fresh fruits, vegetables and meats produced in Queensland.

resultsOver the 1-year period, 659 individual food items were purchased by the hospital foodservice, and 502 food items were included in the anlaysis. In total, 53% of the food budget was spent on Australian foods (100% Australian ingredients) and almost all fruit (73%) and vegetables (91%) were Australian grown. Procuring fresh fruit (28%), vegetables (35%), and meat (46%) from within the state was less common, and this may reflect the primary states of production across Australia, and seasonal variability of the food supply.

conclusionsFindings offer priority areas for improving the locality of the food supply. Future research to determine if procuring more foods locally has benefits to consistency of the food supply is warranted.

Indexed as

Food Service, HospitalFood SupplyBudgetsCross-Sectional StudiesFruitHumansMeatQueenslandVegetablescountry of originfoodservicehospitallocal foodsustainability

Identifiers

PMID39143806
PMCPMC11795222

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.