Repeal and replace
When Miller expressed his plans to remove the fryer, people told him the policy would lose money. “I said that loss of business was in our control,” he says. Small investments such as a tossed-to-order salad station and induction cookers for global fare helped draw health-conscious brown baggers and save the system $30,000 annually in deep-fryer shortening.
At St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colo., the nutrition services team knew discontinuing their fried top-sellers, such as chicken fingers and fries, would dissatisfy customers. To change the conversation, the department installed a churrasco grill the same day they removed the fryers. Instead of chicken tenders, the cafeteria grills chicken shawarma and pork souvlaki. Michael Conroy, director of nutrition services, says he hasn’t heard one complaint about the fryer removal.