Every fall, students come back to campus anticipating change. While some are more visually striking than others,  there are many that are underutilized. One such change is the new Nutritional Guidebook near the entrance to the tray line in the Cafeteria. Prompted by student request, Nutritionist George Elliot and Head of Dining Services Steve Kjellgren began discussing the possibility of creating a nutritional guidebook that students could use to make healthy choices.

“What I continued to hear from students is that they did not necessarily want to know calories and fat (although some did) but more of what the ingredients were, or could they make a better choice based on what was in the food. Also, we have seen a growing number of students, faculty and staff with food allergies and food intolerances. By having the nutrition facts, labels, and ingredients, we can all make better informed decisions on what we want to eat,” Elliot said.

For students such as Kristina Fosse ’13, who eat a primarily plant-based diet, keeping track of nutritional intake is very important.

“I like to see which kinds of meals in the Caf have adequate amounts of protein and iron to make sure that I’m taking care of my health,“ Fosse said.

While this guide is helpful to students who are vegetarian or vegan, those with no dietary restrictions or allergies can benefit from it as well. Student athletes such as Zach Schendel really focus on their health when it comes time to hone in on the nuances of their sport and sharpen their competitive edge.

“It’s really important to eat not only the right foods, but also to eat a lot of them so I have the energy to dominate my workouts,” Schendel said.

This kind of “healthy eating”

mentality is exactly what Elliot and Kjellgren were hoping to get out of the project. While the original goal was to make necessary information available to students with allergies and dietary restrictions, they also wanted to give all students the power to make informed decisions.

“I want the information used to promote thoughtful choices, but not to take choices away from our students. Also, I am so lucky to work with a department that has a vision and continually strives to make things better. Not many campuses this size would have this specific information available,” Elliot said.