VA’s Newest and Busiest Kitchen Is Now Open at West LA VA

With underground tunnels prepared to host delivery robots and a solar paneled roof that powers 20% of operations, the new Nutrition and Food Service (NFS) building at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center campus was designed to meet the needs of hospitalized Veteran patients, for today, and for many decades into the future.

The 28,786 square foot space, which officially opened on April 18, 2024, in Building 605, replaces 72 years of food service operations in Building 300. Building 300 is scheduled to be converted into Veteran permanent supportive housing and community space. 

“I’m excited, we’re all excited. It’s been a lot of years in the making,” said Army Veteran and Food Service Supervisor Lester Baker, who’s been working at the West LA VA Medical Center campus for more than two decades.

The old kitchen’s infrastructure was in decline, Baker said, but the new kitchen features a climate-controlled environment, new equipment and an open floor plan where staff can work more collaboratively. 

In the new space, more than 100 staff members serve approximately 2,000 meals to Veterans per day, or 730,000 meals per year, more than any other VA kitchen nationwide.

Baker is one of many Veterans working in the new kitchen, with 38% of the food operations staff having served their country. “It’s good to be able to work here. Being a Veteran, I’m able to be of service to other Veterans,” said Baker.

The new building’s infrastructure was made to align with the functionality of the future Critical Care Center (CCC), a major repair by replacement project for the main hospital, Building 500. Once the CCC is complete, it will be set up so robots known as “automated guided vehicles (AGVs),” can pick up and deliver food from the kitchen’s tray line via a tunnel and elevator system.  

While the implementation of this technology is at least a decade away, the tunnels, flooring, elevator chutes, and other infrastructure has already been built to accommodate the AGVs.  

“The new kitchen is really exciting,” said Assistant Chief of Nutrition & Food Service, Jennifer Karp. Karp first started at VAGLAHS as a dietetic trainee in 2001 and now oversees the clinical side of nutrition operations. “Not only is it a new space for us to work in, but it brings us closer to most of the patients we serve.”

The previous kitchen was on the north side of the West LA VA Medical Center campus, but the new location is on the south side, close to Building 500, where the majority of meals will be delivered.

Assistant Chief Taylor Clark oversees the food service side of Nutrition & Food Service. Her dad is a Navy Veteran, and she’s been hard at work on the activation of the new kitchen since starting at VAGLAHS a year and a half ago. 

“Moving to a new kitchen like this is a once-in-a-lifetime type of event,” she said. “Most people don’t get this opportunity, and I feel very grateful to be a part of it.”

The kitchen is exclusively serving inpatient Veterans in Building 500, the Community Living Centers (CLCs) at West LA VA Medical Center and Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center campuses, the Domiciliary and a few other niche programs. While the old kitchen used to serve VA Long Beach as well, that VA healthcare system is now making its own food, so the new kitchen can focus on other priorities.

Staff in the new kitchen are preparing meals to meet a wide variety of patient needs. There are menus designed for renal (kidney) diets, kosher, vegetarian, vegan and more. Whether it’s a cheese omelet, stuffed green pepper, or sausage lasagna, dishes are prepared based on individual meal tickets.  

When it comes to creating these meal plans, VAGLAHS has registered dietitians who undergo rigorous training, pass a national exam, and are required to undergo continuing education. 

“The role of the clinical dietitian is to try to optimize nutrition status for patients in whatever way we can,” said Karp, who oversees all clinical NFS staff at VAGLAHS. “There’s no organ system that a dietitian can’t play a role in.”

From customized meal plans to AGVs to enhanced infrastructure, the opportunities in the new space have sparked enthusiasm across the spectrum of Nutrition & Food Service, and there’s a shared vision for better serving Veteran patients. 

“The whole entire time I’ve been here, I’ve been planning for this moment,” said Clark. “It’s exciting.” 

To get connected with NFS, Veterans can refer themselves for scheduling into an outpatient nutrition clinic via phone, Veteran Video Connect (VVC), face-to-face appointments in clinic, and/or group nutrition education classes. Inpatient Veterans can ask their medical provider to contact the inpatient clinical nutrition team for a bedside visit. 

*Communications Specialist Cara Deptula, Office of Strategic, Facility & Master Planning, assisted with interviews for this article.