AMANDA PARSONS, M.A., RD/LD EATING WELL AT CHK

Creating an Eating Well environment within the restaurant Eating Well success factors Past barriers and opportunities for future Eating Well initiatives within the restaurants Benefits of restaurant team and health promotion team working together

CREATING AN EATING WELL ENVIRONMENT Establish needs and goals by asking for direction from upper management What is their vision for the business Budget Health of employee/customer Area restaurants Industry standards for amenities/benefits

CREATING AN EATING WELL ENVIRONMENT Get feedback and buy-in from staff involved rather than singularly providing rules and guidelines Different perspective More willing to buy-in to changes Often the people making program a success after the initial implementation

CREATING AN EATING WELL ENVIRONMENT Establish capabilities Who is going to manage day to day processes Avoid implementing and forgetting! Good ideas are easy to come by, but the challenge lies in the follow through Example: Provide Nutrition information for menu items Is the information entered into the software accurate? Are the cooks following a recipe? Are serving sizes standardized? How often does the menu rotate? Start simple!

EATING WELL SUCCESS FACTORS Goal is to create a culture of health and well-being Do want to make it as simple and appealing as possible to make the “right” choice for the individual Do NOT to make nutrition, health or wellness a mandate

EATING WELL SUCCESS FACTORS The Restaurants at Chesapeake Four restaurants with different concepts Nutrition a priority and made available to fit each concept Nutrition information posted on the employee portal, on the menu sign or ordering kiosk Eating Well symbol also included on menu and ordering kiosk Weight Watchers points are posted for Eating Well menu items

EATING WELL SUCCESS FACTORS At Chesapeake’s FUEL Restaurant half of the menu focuses on Eating Well while at work. Each healthy entrée is made to order, under 550 calories and has less than 900mg of sodium. The menu includes smoothies, low fat thin crust pizzas, whole grain dishes such as quinoa, low fat Asian stir-frys and delicious salads. Fuel serves approximately 250 employees at lunch. 25% of those orders come from the Fitness Center ordering kiosk

EATING WELL SUCCESS FACTORS Basic nutrition principles at Fuel include: Focus on sodium: <800 mg in salads, grains and stir-frys and <900 mg in pizza Blood pressure was selected as a primary wellness priority Focus on whole grains: brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat crust, quinoa, soba noodles Focus on lean proteins: lean beef, chicken breast, shrimp, salmon, tofu Served in a three – four ounce portion Option to double protein for those who require more

EATING WELL SUCCESS FACTORS Basic nutrition principles at Fuel include: Focus on variety of vegetables in all dishes Option to double veggies on stir-frys and grain dishes Salad options include a variety of salad greens Customer automatically given the option of dressing “on the side” Dressing’s made in house are flavorful yet low in calories and sodium Focus on filling, nutritionally balanced smoothies Skim milk or soy milk, non-fat Greek yogurt, tofu, or protein powder add-in for protein sources Unsweetened fruits, spinach, ground flax options for fiber

EATING WELL SUCCESS FACTORS Basic nutrition principles at Fuel include: Focus on trends: Gluten free pasta and pizza crust options now available Add-in options carefully selected: protein powder, flax seed, spinach (for smoothies) Quinoa offered Focus on desserts! Homemade with whole ingredients and sold in small portions Whole wheat brownie bites; whole wheat peanut butter cookie; quinoa cranberry oatmeal cookie

EATING WELL SUCCESS FACTORS Basic nutrition principles at Fuel include: Weekly Chef’s Table allows a chef the opportunity to create a featured menu item Promoted in weekly restaurant and throughout restaurant Higher price point

EATING WELL SUCCESS FACTORS Additional Eating Well principles at other restaurants: Eating Well Special: Daily special that meets specific nutrition criteria (calories, saturated fat, sodium) Different Eating Well special offered daily in two restaurants Wednesday Eating Well special is offered in three restaurants at special price Promoted in weekly restaurant

EATING WELL SUCCESS FACTORS Additional Eating Well principles at other restaurants: Salad bar (available at two restaurants): Nutrition information posted on salad bar for all standard items Salad dressings clearly labeled Staff member in charge of salad bar encouraged to try new, healthy “mixed” salads from available ingredients Pasta dishes made without mayo featuring whole wheat pasta and veggies Hummus Mixed fruit salad with balsamic, agave and vanilla (CHK favorite!) Mixed grain dishes One of the three soups offered each day meets the established Eating Well criteria

EATING WELL SUCCESS FACTORS Additional Eating Well principles at other restaurants: Deli: Whole grain bread options available Health(ier) spreads (in addition to standard offerings) available: avocado, pepper relish, creamy spreads using low-fat mayo or yogurt Able to sub the regular deli chips for baked chips or veggie at same cost Nutrition information provided for daily special in restaurant, sandwich components available on portal Fruit bar: Variety of prepped seasonal fresh or frozen fruits Cottage cheese available at lunch Yogurt and granola available at breakfast

EATING WELL SUCCESS FACTORS Additional Eating Well principles at other restaurants: Daily healthy vegetable and chicken breast hot bar FC Grab & Go Going green – reusable to-go containers

BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES The Eating Well special is the only healthy option… Created a Guide to Eating Well in The Restaurants at Chesapeake Brochures available in the restaurant and employee portal Perceived barrier: Cost: healthy food will cost more for a smaller portion size Not filling: portion size is too small to be satisfying The group effect: more likely to celebrate making it through another week by ordering high fat/calorie food Salad Monday’s

BARRIERS AND OPPORTUNITIES Opportunity to reach employees who don’t feel like they have time or energy to eat well at home in the evening or on the weekends Customer can be reassured by the fact that they can find healthy options each day for breakfast and lunch

COLLABORATING Working together to align goals and main purpose Continuous Eating Well recipe development Healthy doesn’t mean boring! Continuous monitoring of nutrition information to ensure accuracy Maintained as a priority among chef and staff through continued education Continuous monitoring of sales Most helpful for establishing trends and staying ahead of curve

COLLABORATING Keys for meeting customer expectations Establish needs and priorities Convenience: Fuel kiosk in FC; FC and restaurant Grab and Go; lunch hour education opportunities Fun/Interesting: Keep educational events concise; offer samples; get employees involved when possible Pertinent: Offer education opportunities that are relevant to audience and health promotion themes

COLLABORATING Fitness, Health & Wellness and The Restaurants Cooking demonstrations (“no-cook”) Hands-on cooking classes Quarterly Workshop Wednesday’s Nutrition challenges Free samples at special events Team-building event Share recipes for the restaurant favorites

IN CLOSING… Establish clear expectations from management Understand employee/customer priorities Collaborate with teams with a vested interest in initiative or change Start slowly and evaluate sales

THANK YOU!