WHAT Memo is a hospital plate set designed to bring back dignity and restore the desire to eat. It aims to fight against undernutrition in hospitals by thinking of the meal as a key part of the care treatment.
WHY The arrival in the hospital is experienced as a real rupture for the patients on the social level, while all their routines and rituals are turned upside down. They are suddenly forced to conform to a new environment where everything is standardized, including food. The symbolic and social values of the meal are violently replaced by a very austere medical dimension. Patients perceive their meals as a medicine and anticipate an unpleasant taste. Consequently, 40% of the food is wasted every day in public French hospitals (which represent 30 tons per year), and almost 30% of the patients are considered in undernutrition during their stay at the hospital (50% within elderlies) which sometimes increase their time at the hospital. Thus, rethinking hospital meals appears as a leverage point for health care.
HOW My design is based on insights I get from interviews I led with people working on the field, like nurses, dietitians, psychologists, hospital director, etc. I learnt that many factors influence the taste perception (emotional value, degree of prestige, visual). The cephalic phase of digestion is key. The body prepares itself differently depending on what we see on the plate. It is therefore possible to improve the perception of a meal without necessarily influencing the taste. The experts pointed out the lack of visual quality, which blocks the appetite, a problem of mixed odors, that leads to noses, as well as dishes being often served cold/lukewarm.
My design is based on Socamel hospital heating equipment and follows the standardized dimensions.
DETAILS Symbols allow patients to escape from their condition and travel back to their memories. There is a link between memories and tastes, mainly sweet tastes. These tastes memories evoke comfort to the elderly. That is why the color palet is based on traditional French sweets (Vanilla, Blueberry jam, Madeleine, Caramel)
The plate presents :
- A higher part that limits the exchange of odors and structures the meal.
- An enclave that contains the aluminum main dish box. Its shape aims to better grab food and diffuse the heat.
- The enclave has two hollows on the sides to help grip the main dish container.
- The edgings are from variable heights. On the front, there are lower to not interfere with the forearms.
- The food boxes are made of aluminium and present a large edge in order to put the required plastic film on top.
- The boxes represent a more sustainable alternative to one-use plastic boxes that will soon be forbidden in France.
