Dining Services wins prize for Nutrition Month program
Dining Services recently received second place for “The Most Creative Nutrition Promotion” through the National Association of College and University Food Services.
The promotion, which took place in March as part of National Nutrition Month, introduced students and the public to healthy eating habits through a new interactive nutrition website.
Dianne Sutherland, Dining Services dietitian and coordinator of the promotion, also used dietetic interns and undergraduate Nutrition majors to demonstrate to students the nutrient analysis, ingredients and allergens of dining commons recipes. Not only does this assist students with special dietary needs, such as food allergies, diabetes and wheat intolerance, it can also help all students make healthier food choices prior to entering the dining commons, said Sutherland.
Phantom Sheep Comedy Troupe, emceed the nutrition games in each of the dining commons. Each game is interactive to teach the basics of nutrition and a brochure is available to print out to reinforce what was learned. According to Sutherland, there are 14 topics with more coming soon.
Students who participated in the promotion were eligible to win an iPhone, iPod Portable System, fitness memberships and gift cards donated by vendors. Many students participated, while others looked on and cheered friends who played the game or had their meal analyzed, said Sutherland.
Since the introduction of the updated interactive website, the web hits have continually increased. Ken Toong, director of Dining and Retail Services said, “This was an entertaining and innovative nutrition promotion. Our students really enjoy using the web to gather information plus having fun as well. It is simple to use and extremely effective.”
July 10, 2008.
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