The Innovation Award recognizes an individual who has enhanced their nutrition and foodservice operations through technology, program development, nutrition, and operations.
Thom Pastor, CDM, CFPP, FACHE is the Director of Food and Nutrition Services at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) in Anchorage, Alaska, where he oversees retail, inpatient hospital feeding, and clinical nutrition operations.
At the heart of ANTHC’s foodservice operation is the traditional foods program, which brings salmon, moose, caribou, seal, wild berries, and other foods central to Alaska Native culture directly to patients and staff. For many patients, access to these foods during a hospital stay is more than a meal, it is a connection to identity, community, and home.
Upon his arrival, Thom inherited a 20,000-pound surplus of traditional foods stored at significant cost in off-site freezers. Rather than allow inevitable waste, he redistributed the surplus to tribal health organizations and community elders across the state, turning a potential loss into a one-time community benefit while resetting the program’s purchasing model around realistic utilization. Today, the program operates with a tracked inventory system that ensures items reach the menu at peak freshness, and community trust has grown.
Since joining ANTHC, he began restructuring the team to address operational instability. He brought in a nationally recognized interim Executive Chef to model professional kitchen standards, embedded pay equity into every hiring decision to reduce turnover and build trust among staff. Today, three Alaska Native managers hold decision and design control over traditional menus across the service line, a meaningful investment in the cultural continuity of the program itself.
Thom pursued his FACHE credential, a distinction typically held by hospital administrators and clinical executives because he believes foodservice leadership belongs at the same table as every other healthcare discipline. His vision, dedication, and ability to hold both operational rigor and creative problem solving demonstrate the innovative strategies possible in the foodservice industry.
