Sophie's Legacy is delighted to introduce ‘More Please’, a book that will transform hospital food for children

During her time in hospital, Sophie highlighted a significant issue: the quality and accessibility of food for children. Despite being a child who loved her food, Sophie described the meals she received in the hospital as "disgusting."

Sophie's experiences highlighted that hospital food often failed to meet the needs of young patients. The meals were not always child-friendly, and the timing of food delivery was frequently inconvenient. During chemotherapy, Sophie would experience bouts of vomiting, and meals would arrive when she felt too unwell to eat. Conversely, when her appetite returned late at night, the hospital kitchen would be closed, leaving her without options. This led to Sophie refusing hospital food altogether and only eating once she was discharged.

Sophie’s Legacy vowed to change this, and over the past year, the organisation has been working with the Chief Nursing Officer, her NHS team, and Phil Shelley from the NHS Food Review to implement changes. In May 2023, Sophie’s mum, Charlotte, met with Nick Vadis from NHS Food Supply to discuss improving children's food. Nick suggested creating a cookbook and a year later, in May 2024, a children's cookbook produced by NHS Food Supply Chain and Foodbuy UK was published.

The book entitled, ‘More Please’, is the first cookbook for NHS chefs, focusing on children's food. Sophie's Legacy charity were invited to choose two recipes to feature our logo. Of course we chose a pancake dish and a Mexican dish, both of Sophie’s favorites. Whilst the book focusses on providing healthy, nutritious meals aimed at children, it also emphasises the need to feed parents. ‘More Please’, is a valuable tool for NHS chefs and will be distributed to all hospitals with on-site chefs.

Sophie's Legacy continues to work towards ensuring that no child has to endure the same struggles with hospital food that Sophie did, making significant strides in improving the dining experience for young patients in hospitals across the country.