Columbus Dispatch: Kosher food helps ease the stress of hospital stays

A proud, new partnership has come to life. The Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus (JCC) and OhioHealth have partnered together to create a new kosher catering program for patients at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center.

Before being delivered to Grant, the meals are prepared at the JCC. Supervised by Buckeye Kosher, they prepare several options for the patients to choose from, including three breakfast options and six options for lunch and dinner.

Arnold Good, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Grant, believes that previously there were not enough kosher options for patient meals.

“This came about as a desire to provide more robust kosher services in the community,” said Dr. Good.

Matan Gutwaks, catering and rentals manager at the JCC, worked with Stephanie Novosad, director of nutrition services at Grant to create a kosher menu that could be readily available to patients and their guests. Dr. Good says along with the JCC being a key component in this process, OhioHealth and Grant deserve praise for the new program.

“OhioHealth deserves a lot of credit to have the understanding that there are communities of faith that need some additional attention and services,” says Dr. Good. “I think that appreciating diversity allows them to meet those needs.”

Both Dr. Good and Gutwaks hope to inflate the awareness of the opportunity of kosher meals at Grant. To meet the needs of patients, they also strive to broaden the menu.

“As awareness is raised and demand is increased, I hope to expand the menu to meet the needs of patients for fresh, nutritious, kosher food,” says Gutwaks.

This new program was recently featured in the Columbus Dispatch.  To read the story, click on the Dispatch logo.  For more information on the program, click here to read the JCC's blog post.