Case Study - AdventHealth Shawnee Mission

World Centric + AdventHealth Shawnee Mission

Shawnee Mission Health is a 504-bed hospital in Merriam, Kansas owned by the AdventHealth hospital system. When Shawnee Mission noticed how much they were spending on single-use disposables in their foodservice operation, they decided to look into alternatives.

Many of the staff take meals to go because of short lunch breaks. Because of this, Harvest Kitchen, the primary foodservice facility at Shawnee Mission, decided to stick with disposables. Having previously used expanded polystyrene (also known as Styrofoam™) for their foodservice needs, AdventHealth was looking to decrease the amount of waste they sent to the landfill as well as accelerate their sustainability goals.

The Situation

In 2017, they made the switch to World Centric compostable bowls, plates and cups utilizing Premier Healthcare to consolidate their purchases.

The Action

By using compostable foodservice ware to serve over 1,900 meals a day, Harvest Kitchen has decreased the environmental impact of their facilities and kept over 10,000 lbs of unrecyclable foam out of landfills in one year alone.

This shift has also helped accelerate other sustainability goals, like serving organic and locally grown foods, recycling fats, oil, and grease from the kitchen, and converting a smoker’s lounge into an onsite garden where they harvest herbs and vegetables, all of which are used in the kitchen.

The Future

Looking forward, Shawnee Mission hopes to implement a full-scale composting program with Missouri Organics across other hospital departments to divert even more waste.