Make the Healthy Catered Choice the Easy and Affordable Choice
This project is a collaborative effort between Healthy UC Davis and dining services at Davis and Sacramento campuses with a goal to develop healthy catering menus are affordable rates for departments and programs to access.
Introduction:
Make the Healthy Catered Choice the Easy and Affordable Choice is a project funded by Healthy UC Davis for 2019-20. The deliverable was to be a report informing whether or not it is feasible to consider implementing a subsidization type program to make healthy catered menus more affordable on a college campus.
Outcomes:
This project has moved beyond the expected report; as of the end of Winter Quarter 2020 we were on track to trial an affordable Nourish certified box lunch through Olive and Vine catering on campus. Additionally the Healthy Meeting and Event Guide was fully updated and linked to the Nourish box lunches for order. It will be launched on or around April 1.
With the COVID-19 interruption, we may not be able to trial the lunches and collect feedback but we will be able to launch the Healthy Meeting and Event guide, in it's new format, and survey event planners their thoughts. This information will be included in the report. The guide will also be presented at a Wellness Ambassador training for dissemination to departments widely.
Opportunities for Involvement:
Opportunities for involvement include campus community members ordering the new Nourish certified box lunch for a meeting or event and providing feedback via a survey delivered to your inbox after the event. You will also be asked to survey participants to gather their feedback on the healthy food provided and where their priorities lie around food at meetings.
Recent Milestones:
The project has been consistently on-track due to the work of the graduate student assistant as well as the critical partnership formed with Olive and Vine. The graduate student has completed a literature review to inform their work, updated the Healthy Meeting and Event Guide and will soon trial the Nourish-certified Box Lunch with Olive and Vine catering. Their final report will include the literature review as well as the results of the Nourish-certified Box Lunch launch, as experienced by both event planners and event participants.
Project Lead:
Linda Adams, RD
Registered Dietitian
Occupational Health Services and Campus Recreation
lwadams@ucdavis.edu