While hospitals run all day, often the food service doesn’t; once the cafeteria closes, the only food available in vending machine junk food. According to Pediatrics 81% of the food in vending machines in health care facilities including hospitals, clinics, etc, does not meet nutrition standards.

Chowbotics is a company dedicated to changing that. They have introduced Sally, a fresh food-making robot which offers healthy customizable meals any time of day or night, which is already in over a dozen hospitals in the US including: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, Ark., IU  Health Bloomington Hospital in Bloomington, Ind. and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pen and multiple locations in the Ochsner Medical Center campuses throughout Louisiana. 

Visitors and staff can appreciate fast, healthy meals including salads, grain bowls and breakfast bowls, which can be tailored to their dietary needs, fine-tuning calorie count or ingredients. Users can order chef-crafted selections or choose from any of up to 22 different ingredients and receive real-time nutritional feedback based on their selection. Over the last year, of all the Chowbotics meals sold in hospitals, 41% were sold after hours, between 7 pm - 7 am proving the need for late-night fresh food.

Chowbotics recently hired Alison Negrin as Research & Development Chef. Negrin was formerly the Executive Chef of John Muir Health System where she saw the menu development for patient and cafeteria menus for three campuses. Negrin will be working with the culinary team to create new healthy and delicious menu items. 

Hospitals also enjoy the added benefit of being able to reduce food waste as Sally’s technology helps to keep food fresh longer, and every order is customizable to taste, eliminating unwanted food. (According to the EPA, hospitals produce around 170,000 tons of food waste every year, 2015) Chowbotics’ proprietary technology reduces the risk of foodborne illness and cross-contamination, as ingredients are separated by canisters, replenished on a regular basis, and contained within the robot.