Coronado Residents Benefit From Green Grocers' Market

Sharp Coronado Hospital is changing the way people feel about hospital food by offering meals with fresh and organic ingredients, hosting an outdoor produce market for the community and planning an on-site organic herb garden.

The hospital’s Food and Nutrition Services Department recently revamped the menu at Cathie's Place, the hospital café, to include flavorful dishes from around the world, like Caribbean jerk chicken sandwiches, salmon with pineapple chutney sauce and Baja fish tacos.

“We’re here to dispel the myth that healthy food doesn’t taste good,” said May Roueiheb, manager of Food Services at Sharp Coronado. "Our patients and members of our community deserve to eat this way.”

The new menu features entrées, soups, and sides prepared with wellness in mind. Every day, the head chef demonstrates healthy food preparation and provides a nutritional analysis for hot chef-prepared items.

In addition to serving healthy meals at Cathie's Place, the food services team has started a Green Grocers' Market from 11:30 am to 3 pm every other Thursday where staff sell organic produce and chef-prepared meals to go, like grilled chicken and shrimp kabobs with vegetables, organic roasted baby potatoes and strawberry shortcake.

“We use the market as an opportunity to inform our patrons about produce they may not know about and expose them to new recipes,” Roueiheb said.

Roueiheb and her team will also plant a certified organic seasonal herb garden next to the hospital’s auditorium in the fall. Executive Chef Jose Zamora plans to use the herbs in cafeteria meals.

The Sharp Coronado Hospital Café is open from 6:30 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday, and 7 am to 2 pm, Saturday and Sunday.