How our Forward Food team, Holland Bloorview, and Sodexo Canada celebrated Earth Week 2026
Earth Week 2026 marked a milestone in sustainable healthcare at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, thanks to an inspiring collaboration between Humane World’s Forward Food program, hospital staff, and the hospital’s food service provider, Sodexo Canada. Together, we hosted the hospital’s largest Earth Week event to date: a Planetary Health Day.
Through this initiative, we showcased the power of partnership in promoting environmental stewardship and healthy, compassionate plant-based eating within healthcare settings.
Bringing Sustainability to the Cafeteria
On April 23, a Planetary Health Day was held in the hospital cafeteria. For this special occasion, Sodexo chefs featured two delicious plant-based dishes—baked black bean nachos and a vibrant buddha bowl—as specials. These meals were subsidized by Sodexo and our Forward Food team, making them more accessible and encouraging staff, clients and families to try plant-forward options.
To complement these chef specials, we set up an information table to share sustainability facts and resources with hospital staff, visitors and families. Kids enjoyed our colouring sheets, which featured messages about how plant-based foods help to protect our planet, while fun facts about the environmental impacts of our food system helped everyone learn about the power of choosing plant-based options more often.
Inspiring Change
The event generated a buzz throughout the hospital, and the response was overwhelmingly positive—so much so that both the baked black bean nachos and the buddha bowl sold out before the end of lunch service. Diners praised the flavours and presentation of the dishes, underscoring the growing appetite for environmentally conscious choices in healthcare settings. All told, it was Holland Bloorview’s biggest Earth Week event ever!
The collaboration between Forward Food, Sodexo Canada, and Holland Bloorview demonstrates how thoughtful partnerships can foster real change. We’re eager to build on this momentum, exploring more opportunities to expand plant-based offerings that are better for people, planet and animals, inspiring others in the healthcare sector to follow suit.
Together, we can create stronger communities, a more ethical food system, and a healthier planet—one delicious, plant-based meal at a time.
About Forward Food
Forward Food is an innovative culinary resource program that helps the foodservice industry – foodservice management companies, large-scale institutions such as universities and hospitals, restaurants, food distributors, and other operations – to put plants at the centre of the plate. The program offers culinary training, recipes, menu development support, guidance on marketing and communications, educational sessions, and greenhouse gas impact assessments to help foodservice professionals meet the increasing demand for delicious, accessible plant-based options. Forward Food provides services free of charge, and asks those they work with to sign the Forward Food pledge to make their menus or food purchasing more plant-based.
About Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital is Canada’s hospital for children with disabilities and developmental differences. They are the only hospital of its kind in Canada focused on combining world-class care, transformational research, and academic leadership in the field of child and youth rehabilitation and disability. Their commitment to innovation, inclusion, and family-centred care sets the standard for paediatric healthcare.
About Sodexo
Sodexo Canada is a leader in integrated food services, facilities management, and workplace experience solutions. With a strong focus on sustainability and social responsibility, Sodexo partners with organizations across Canada to deliver nutritious, planet-friendly meals and exceptional service.