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Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series on the future of Dining Services. Look for part two this Thursday.
As students walked into York Commons Wednesday night, they were greeted with fresh fruits, vegetables, low fat dips piled high on display; a stir-fry bar, exotic breads and seafood and for dessert, fruity crepes and smoothies. Red and white tablecloths draped the tables surrounded with students, and games and information tables lined the walkways. By 5:30 p.m., the first Dining Services’ health fair was in full swing, helpping to show students how “to make healthy choices with what you normally could eat,” executive chef Glenn Taylor explained.
Like Bowdoin and Bates, the University of Maine is making the move to introduce students to healthier eating by buying more farm-fresh produce and purchasing from Maine suppliers.
“It feels healthier,” Taylor said.
The fair comes to students as a way to celebrate March as National Nutrition Month, said Laura Honeycutt, the university dietitian. The key messages of Nutrition Month – choose moderation, balance over time, weight management, healthy body – were expressed on pamphlets laid out at the nutrition table.
Students were handed a “passport to health” as they walked through York Commons’ door. It mapped the tables laid out for the evening: a massage therapy table, women’s fitness, a table where blood pressure was measured, Peer Education’s Healthy Body Image display, games, Bangor Region Partners for Health and residential recycling, among others.
Becky Thibodeau, a senior food science and nutrition major, manned a games table where she asked students questions about nutrition in order to win prizes. The questions, based on the 2005 dietary guidelines for Americans, were “an interactive way of getting [students] to think about nutrition,” she said.
The Bangor Region Partners for Health had a table where students who smoked or knew someone who smoked were able to receive information about support services to help them quit. According to Derek Lambert, a member of BPRH, the organization has played an active role in reducing the amount of smoking on campus. They hope to start a plan this spring for a smoking cessation group on campus, Lambert said.
“[Smoking cessation] provides a healthier environment for all students. Second hand smoke is more harmful than regular smoking,” he said.
Peer Ed had a table promoting healthy body image.
“A lot of people base how they eat on how they feel about themselves and how they see themselves,” said Karen Judkins, a senior women’s studies and sociology major and Peer Educator.
Dawn Aubrey, project manager of the strategic plan for Dining Services, said she was pleased with the success of the event. She said that the event was to showcase Dining Services’ new wellness initiative as well as provide students exposure to organic, natural, and Maine-grown products.
York Commons was specially selected to host the event, she said.
“We feel that York is under-utilized,” she said. “What they typically do in one night we’ve already done in the first hour and a half of the fair.”
Next year students can expect to see a fresh-food approach at York, where the way that food service is delivered will be more like the health fair: preparation in front of students and an emphasis on smaller portions being cooked at a time so the foods remain fresher.
She said Dining Services hopes to get a way from the old system of delivering meals and have more self-serve style dining. In addition, they plan to buy less pre-processed food and have a larger variety of foods available to students she said.
“That’s where we feel in our hearts that students will get the most for their money,” Aubrey said.
Next year Dining Services also hopes to have more of a retail feel at the commons, though the facilities are not ready to accommodate that yet, said Kathy Kitridge, associate director for the commons.
From the long lines stretching around the dining room, it was apparent that the students enjoyed the evening.
“The breads are awesome. I like the fact that they try to tell you that it’s good for you,” said Alisa Makson, a sophomore psychology major. “I’m pretty healthy anyways. I wish they had this stuff more often so I can feel better about what I eat here.”
Claire Lint, assistant dining service manager at York Commons, was happy with the results of the evening, despite the amount of work involved.
“When you hear this buzz in the dining room and you see all the people flowing around, that’s great,” she said. “To be the dining hall to do it means that we’re good. You can’t help but feel like we’ve got talent here.”
Bangor Daily News