The US Environmental Protection Agency Food Recovery Hierarchy suggests methods for diverting food waste from landfill. Knowledge of how hospital foodservices implement food waste management strategies could help modernize food waste practices. The aim of this study was to explore hospital staff members’ experiences of implementing a food waste management strategy to divert food waste from landfill in their hospital foodservice, including the journey, challenges, and facilitators of this practice change. A qualitative study was conducted in 2022-2023 using semi-structured interviews. Eighteen participants were staff members with knowledge of the food waste management strategy from 14 exemplar hospitals in United States, Spain, Scotland, and Australia using strategies to divert food waste from landfill within the last 10 years. Mapping and thematic analysis were undertaken to code and identify themes from the interviews that described staff members’ experiences of the journey to implement the strategy. Six hospitals donated food, 1 transferred food waste for animal feed, 4 used an industrial solution, and 3 sent food waste for composting. A common journey pathway for successful implementation was identified from participants' experiences. It features the following 6 phases: idea, preparation, roll out, maintenance, established practice, and evolution. Facilitators included legislation, enthusiastic staff members, executive support, and “luck.” Challenges were smells, occasions when food waste was not collected, equipment breakage, and funding depletion. This study identified a common journey pathway for implementing a food waste management strategy in hospital foodservices that can be used to anticipate and prepare for the steps in the implementation process.

中文翻译：

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在示范医院餐饮服务中将食物垃圾从垃圾填埋场转移：定性研究

美国环境保护署食品回收体系提出了将食品垃圾从垃圾填埋场转移的方法。了解医院餐饮服务如何实施食物浪费管理策略可以帮助实现食物浪费做法的现代化。本研究的目的是探讨医院工作人员实施食物垃圾管理策略以将食物垃圾从医院餐饮服务中的垃圾填埋场转移的经验，包括这一实践变革的历程、挑战和促进因素。 2022 年至 2023 年采用半结构化访谈进行了一项定性研究。 18 名参与者是了解美国、西班牙、苏格兰和澳大利亚 14 家示范医院的食物垃圾管理策略的工作人员，他们使用了过去 10 年内将食物垃圾从垃圾填埋场转移的策略。我们进行了绘图和主题分析，以编码和确定访谈中的主题，这些访谈描述了工作人员在实施战略过程中的经历。 6 家医院捐赠了食物，1 家医院将食物垃圾用于动物饲料，4 家医院使用工业解决方案，3 家医院将食物垃圾用于堆肥。根据参与者的经验确定了成功实施的共同路径。它具有以下 6 个阶段：创意、准备、推出、维护、既定实践和演进。推动者包括立法、热情的工作人员、行政支持和“运气”。挑战包括气味、食物垃圾未收集、设备损坏和资金耗尽。这项研究确定了在医院餐饮服务中实施食物浪费管理策略的通用路径，可用于预测和准备实施过程中的步骤。