By Camille Finn, MS, RD, LDN
Director of Nutrition, Health, & Wellbeing at Phoenix3 Collective
As a Registered Dietitian and the Director of Nutrition, Health & Wellbeing at Phoenix3, I’ve been thinking a lot about the recent guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Not because it introduces entirely new ideas, but because it reinforces something many of us in healthcare already know:
Food plays a direct role in patient outcomes.
What feels different right now is the urgency. The March 2026 CMS Special Alert Memo reminds hospitals that food and nutrition services must support “high-quality, evidence-based care and improved health outcomes,” and that menus and procurement should align with the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. For organizations that haven’t looked closely at their foodservice programs through this lens, now is the time.
Here are five questions worth asking:
1. Does our menu reflect what we actually recommend to patients?
We spend significant time educating patients on reducing ultra-processed foods, limiting added sugars, and prioritizing whole foods. But do our menus reflect that guidance? If a patient is told to follow a heart-healthy or diabetes-friendly diet, the meals they receive should reinforce that message. When they don’t, it creates confusion and a missed opportunity.
2. Are culinary and clinical teams truly working together or operating in parallel?
In many organizations, both teams are highly skilled but not fully integrated. Dietitians focus on clinical appropriateness; culinary teams focus on execution and experience. The real impact happens when those perspectives come together early and often: co-developing menus, aligning on ingredients, and sharing accountability for outcomes. That’s when food shifts from being a service to being part of the care plan.
3. What percentage of our menu is made from scratch?
CMS guidance places strong emphasis on minimizing ultra-processed foods, which raises an important operational question: how much of what we serve is actually prepared from whole ingredients? Scratch cooking directly impacts sodium levels, added sugars, and nutrient density, and allows for greater flexibility in meeting therapeutic needs.
A useful starting point is a menu audit: tag each item as scratch-prepared, minimally processed, or ultra-processed. The gold standard: 80% or more scratch or minimally processed, with ultra-processed items limited to clinical exceptions like thickened beverages or oral nutrition supplements. Below 50% is a meaningful gap and indicates a clear place to start.
4. What are patients actually experiencing during their stay?
Even during short stays, patients are forming impressions about what healthy eating looks and tastes like, and using that experience as a model for how to eat at home. Thoughtful, satisfying meals reinforce that message. Overly processed or unappealing ones lose that opportunity entirely.
One important nuance: better hospital food should not mean more restrictive hospital food. A liberalized diet approach recognizes that overly rigid rules, especially for older adults and complex patients, can reduce intake and undermine outcomes. The goal is nourishing, enjoyable food, not engineering every tray to clinical perfection. Patient agency over what they eat is itself therapeutic.
5. Are we measuring success beyond tray delivery?
Traditional foodservice metrics often focus on timeliness, cost, and satisfaction scores. Those matter, but they don’t tell the full story.
As expectations evolve, we should also be asking:
- Are meals supporting clinical outcomes?
- Are patients eating and tolerating what is served?
- Are we reinforcing nutrition education through food?
Expanding how we define success is key to aligning foodservice with broader care goals.
Where Culinour Comes In
These questions shaped the development of Culinour.
Our approach is grounded in a simple belief: the strongest outcomes happen when culinary and clinical teams are fully aligned.
That shows up through:
- Scratch-made, nutrient-dense menus built from whole ingredients
- Close collaboration between dietitians and culinary teams
- A focus on food that supports both recovery and long-term health
- A commitment to meals that patients actually want to eat
As Culinour launches within the Phoenix3 Collective, I’m excited about the opportunity to help organizations navigate this shift in a practical, meaningful way.
Because this isn’t just about meeting new guidance. It’s about rethinking what hospital foodservice can and should be.