Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami on Monday to announce the formation of a Florida Farm-to-Hospital partnership designed to encourage healthier meals for patients nationwide.

Kennedy, the nation’s health secretary, said the partnership aims to connect Florida farms directly to hospital food programs, expanding access for patients to fresh, nutrient-dense, medically tailored meals.

Standing in front of a podium with the catchphrase “Take Back Your Health,” Kennedy and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, both emphasized their focus on improving hospital menus. They said it’s the natural next step as health care spending to treat chronic disease is skyrocketing.

Kennedy flipped the traditional U.S. food pyramid upside down, recommending that Americans focus more on protein including red meat and full-fat dairy such as whole milk. Oz wants hospitals to rid their menus of sugary drinks and foods and ultra-processed items and to include more fruits and vegetables. Oz said he sent a memo on Monday to all U.S. hospitals, stating they must align patient meals with the new dietary guidelines or risk losing Medicare and Medicaid eligibility.

“This will empower every hospital and nation to align the food that they serve to patients in a way that they’re supposed to be serving those patients, not just with the scalpel blade or medications being infused, but with the true healing art of the food that we serve them,” Oz said.

Kennedy, who has urged Americans to “eat real food” to prevent disease, said he now wants to extend that push to hospitals. He said hospital CEOs seem to be on board.

“I’m really grateful with the hospital CEOs all across the country. We’re now starting to adopt good food policies,” Kennedy said.

On Monday, Nicklaus CEO Matthew Love became the first health system leader in Florida to sign the farm-to-hospital pledge. However, Nicklaus had begun efforts two years ago to prioritize fresh produce from local farms in its hospital cafeteria and patient dining facilities. It also eliminated products containing red dye from its patient menu. Jessica Simon, the hospital’s executive chef of food and nutrition services, said she makes 400 healthy meals a day for patients, sourcing produce from local growers.

During Monday’s presentation, Florida agriculture commissioner Wilton Simpson said the new partnership benefits all Floridians.

“This compact, built on the momentum by formalizing and expanding partnerships between agriculture and health care, breaking down barriers and making it easier for hospitals to source directly from Florida producers, is a policy with common sense,” Simpson said, “It’s about putting real food back at the center of our food supply, and it’s about supporting American farmers while improving patient outcomes, especially for our children.”

As part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative, Kennedy has focused on food as medicine.

He has emphasized connecting agricultural practices and healthy eating directly with public health, addiction treatment and hospital nutrition. Kennedy has also been working to curb ultra-processed foods by eliminating easy-to-prepare frozen meals used in school lunch programs nationwide. Some medical experts, however, say Kennedy on occasion overstates the role that food can play in preventing and managing illnesses.

Stacey Schieffelin of the America First Policy Institute said the new Farm-to-Hospital partnership is not just about managing illness but nurturing healing. In thanking Kennedy, she said launching the initiative at the Miami children’s hospital is the ideal setting.

“Children deserve every possible opportunity to heal, to recover and to thrive,” she said. “This initiative is about giving them that opportunity.”

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