Rather than bore students with dry stats on calories and fat, Wesley Delbridge, R.D., food & nutrition director for Phoenix’s Chandler Unified School District, is turning healthy eating into a game. In August, he launched lunchtime contests that pit boys against girls in a battle over who can eat more fruits and vegetables before recess. They’ve been a rousing success, doubling the amount of produce the cafeteria served on contest days.
Faculty members patrol the cafeteria, using their smartphones to tally the number of boys and girls spotted eating fruits or vegetables. To fuel the competition, the score is tracked in real time and displayed on TV monitors. And in between score updates, the TV runs a presentation with slides that tout the virtues of healthy eating through funny videos, surprising facts and interactive games. “We’ve always had nutrition education, but now we’re bringing the socialization aspect into it. I really think it’s the future of the lunchroom,” Delbridge says.
But by the time students reach college they’re usually more concerned with studying and socializing than learning about nutrition. “A lot of students come in wanting to learn how to eat healthier on campus, they just don’t have the knowledge base to do it well,” says Ashton Jackson, R.D., university dining nutrition assistant at North Carolina State University (NCSU), in Raleigh.
The idea, then, is to keep it simple. At NCSU, nutrition information is available online and is also displayed on iPads at the point of sale. Dining hall tables, too, are peppered with eye-catching napkin cards that serve up unexpected tips for eating well, like a formula for building an energizing breakfast (fiber plus protein) or how choosing the right foods can help students eat their way to better grades.
And for students who want to delve deeper, options abound. Starting this year, dining staff will launch a Nutrition Education Series for Residential Advisors, with sessions like Avoiding the Freshman 15, Nutrition 101 and Healthy Residence Hall Cooking, all designed to empower students to navigate the college’s unique environment and eat well.
Catchy labels or color-coding systems nix the eye glazing that can come from traditional nutrition displays, plus make it easy for busy customers to make good-for-them choices quickly. At WakeMed Health & Hospitals, in Raleigh, N.C., grab-and-go fare like turkey and cheddar sandwiches with nonfat mayonnaise display WakeWell stickers to indicate a healthy option. And Florida Blue, in Jacksonville, features digital menu signage with green, yellow or red color coding to signify nutritional value (or a lack thereof).
Still, logos and colors can only do so much. To offer more incentive, WakeMed Café Manager Chris Carr recently debuted a reduced cost veggie plate to encourage produce consumption. And during Florida Blue’s annual health assessments, employees who have lost weight can earn more money for their personal health savings accounts. “We’re all adults and we trust you as wanting to be on this wellness journey with us,” says Corporate Hospitality Services Manager Damian Monticello. “Employees know that if they eat well over the year and weigh less than last year, they’re going to earn more points.”