TAMPA, Fla. — Leaders at Tampa General Hospital welcomed U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday as they vowed to improve patient access to nutritious food.

The announcement came about a week after the Department of Health and Human Services launched "The Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge." The campaign asks hospitals to sign a voluntary commitment to work towards updated dietary standards for the food it serves patients and provides in cafeterias.

It’s the latest step in the secretary’s push to eliminate highly processed foods — which health officials say fuel chronic disease — and to increase consumption of healthy fats, proteins and vegetables.

“If you go to your friend’s house and you say this tastes like hospital food, that’s not a compliment,” Kennedy said during a news conference before Tampa General CEO John Couris signed the pledge.

He wants that to change.

Kennedy was joined by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. The two worked together this January in the joint release of a new federal nutrition policy that places emphasis on increasing consumption of foods such as salmon, avocados, nuts and seeds. It also calls for eliminating sugar and artificial sweeteners.

“The fact that we have a leader in Washington who understands the importance of food and the power that it has in healing people is extraordinary,” Couris said. “I want to personally thank you.”

In March, health officials urged hospitals to adopt the updated guidelines in a memo shared by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which is overseen by Dr. Mehmet Oz. The memo stated that hospitals receiving Medicare funds must comply with federal dietary guidelines and encouraged medical leaders to take steps like eliminating the “routine offering of sugar-sweetened beverages” and to swap out sugary cereals for cleaner options like steel-cut oats.

The pledge, which Kennedy announced July 8 in a video alongside Oz, continues the push.

“The U.S. spends approximately $5 trillion each year on health care, with 90% of those costs driven by chronic disease,” the campaign website reads, under a “Make Hospital Food Healthy Again” title. “Hospitals do more than treat illness — they influence recovery, support long-term health, and help patients manage chronic conditions.”

Tampa General is a leader that medical centers nationwide can emulate, Kennedy said. It began a transition toward a healthy menu more than two years ago with the help of celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian, according to the secretary. Zakarian was also on hand for the signing.

Today, around 25% of the food served at Tampa General comes from local and regional farmers, Kennedy said. The health system has incorporated food into treatment plans through the establishment of a community garden at an out-patient clinic. There, doctors are able to prescribe fresh food to patients with chronic conditions linked to diet, such as Type 2 diabetes.

“We have a template here at Tampa General,” Kennedy said. “We can say if they did it, you can do it.”

Tampa General is one of the largest medical centers in the state, with nearly 1,000 beds and more than 15,000 employees. It’s the only Level I Trauma Center in the region, meaning it treats the sickest and most complicated patients.

In conjunction with USF Health, the medical center is a leader in research and innovation. It houses one of the country’s top organ transplant programs.

Kennedy and Rollins noted that they hope to see the changes adopted by health leaders implemented in schools, prisons and the military, too.

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