HELPING ALL STUDENTS STAY AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME The genesis for Performance Plate came out of team brainstorming sessions held last summer for the new school year. That team includ- ed Holli Mootz, Providence’s cam- pus dietitian, who is also employed by Sodexo. “One of the first thoughts that sparked the idea was: ‘We are a Division I school, and what can we do to add to that?’” Mootz says. But immediately, the team recognized that they didn’t want to limit the new station’s potential audience only to athletes. A message of inclusivity would be key in developing—and marketing— Performance Plate for campus-wide success. “The question instead became: ‘What can we do for people who want to be top performers?’” Mootz says. “Whether you’re an athlete or one of our STEM students or active in clubs, everyone needs nutrients and vitamins to be at their best.” Mootz introduced herself to Providence’s Sports Dietitian Lynne Hebert via email and asked for a meeting, and the women talked through ideas for Performance Plate. Hebert has been a strong partner of the initiative, Mootz says, by making a point to highlight the station during dining room tours with student-athletes and issuing a constant reminder: Don’t know what to eat? Go grab something from Performance Plate. Mootz highly recommends that operators at C&Us connect with leaders of other divisions, as it sparks new ideas while also building buy-in across campus. However, the most important opinion is that of students, Estevez says. His team meets at least once a month with a network of 10-15 students to solicit feedback and make changes as necessary. One of those new changes is a big upgrade to the hydration station, where students can now
enjoy homemade electrolyte drinks made from Mootz’s own recipes. Fruit juices—like lemonade, fruit punch, peach, strawberry, orange, and grape—are combined with salt and other ingredients to boost hydration. The program has been incredibly popular with students so far, and it’s just one of the many ways Providence College’s foodservice team is working to make healthy eating delicious, exciting, and simple. Simple is not always easy to execute. But it’s Mootz’s top tip for other operators looking to inspire their students to eat more healthfully and mindfully. Performance Plate’s all-in-one nature is critical to its success, she says. Other operators may find they already have all the right pieces in their dining rooms—and it’s just a matter of changing the presentation. “Convenience really is key,” Mootz says. “I hate to say it, but people do not like to read [placards] across the dining hall about what’s healthy over here and over there. It’s out of sight, out of mind. So if you can put it all together for them, it’s much simpler for them to say, ‘Wow, this looks great.’ GET TO KNOW PROVIDENCE COLLEGE’S ELI ESTEVEZ See what’s in store for Estevez’s operation, which was named FSD’s April Foodservice Operation of the Month. Q: What is it that makes your operation excel? It’s a combination of strong leader- ship and a committed team. We’re committed to each other and to making the student experience great. We’re relentlessly focused on what our students want and how we can do even more to make them happy. We prioritize consistency, quality of service and cleanliness, while staying responsive to the evolving
needs of our campus community. We collect data and conduct surveys and use these to drive our decisions, but it’s also really important never to lose sight of the human element: that interaction of actually going up asking them, “How can I help you? How can I make your day better?” Q: What are your goals for the operation in the coming year? Every semester we deeply evalu- ate our program as a whole, and we assess any areas that that need improvements or evolutions based on current trends. I know we’ll keep growing the Performance Plate sta- tion, and we actually want to add more of those types of options all throughout the dining room. It’s because our students are gravitating more toward healthy eating. We’re seeing how we can bring those concepts into our retail setting too— kind of stepping away from the burgers and fried chicken to the more healthy and balanced plates.
A t college campuses around the country, a longtime student dining trend continues to accel- erate: Many students are ditching the comfort food and soda in favor of healthy balanced meals (at least most of the time). Yet it can be challenging to build a plate that’s not only “healthy” but also nutritionally balanced—and delicious too. Providence College: Fueling Performance on and off the Field The Sodexo dining team at the school recently unveiled its Power Plate concept which aims to offer students a variety of meals to boost their performance. BY JULIANNE PEPITONE
That was the impetus for Perfor- mance Plate, a new entrée station that Providence College in Rhode Island launched this school year. Food Service Director Eli Estevez and his team wanted to make it as easy as possible for students to choose food that fuels their perfor- mance, both on and off the field. “We wanted to create a dedicated entrée station that makes it really easy to just walk up and get a meal that supports optimal wellness and nutrition,” says Estevez, who is em- ployed by Sodexo as resident dis- trict manager. Performance Plate is a highly cu- rated station that serves as a one- stop-shop for a balanced plate. The curated menu changes daily, but the station always offers a care - fully selected variety of proteins, grains and vegetables. And this is no boiled chicken with white rice. The Performance Plate lunch and dinner offerings are both flavorful and extensive. One recent dinner menu includ- ed chipotle chicken breast with lem- on-garlic green beans, spicy black-
eyed peas, cilantro rice, steamed baby carrots and Southwestern roasted vegetables. For lunch, or- ange-rosemary glazed turkey breast was served alongside creamy but- ternut squash risotto, roasted pota- to wedges, broccoli slaw salad and Asian vegetable stir fry. Vegetarians are welcome here, too, with lunches like eggplant parmesan and sides of sauteed spinach with caramelized onions, couscous primavera, roasted cauli- flower, broccoli Raab and mashed sweet potatoes. “[Students] can customize and make their personal choices, but at the same time, the station’s menu does the work for you because it’s all planned as one balanced meal,” Estevez says. About 30% of students eat from the Performance Plate station dur- ing any given lunch or dinner serve, Estevez estimates. It’s become just as popular as the comfort food sta- tion, with both athletes and other students—but it was the college’s sports program that inspired the initial idea.
Find more insights in the latest issue of FSD Quarterly
Powered by FlippingBook