BON APPETIT’S NEW DINE WELL, EAT SMART MONTHLY TAKEOVER SERIES TAPS INTO THE COLLEGE-AGE GENERATION’S WANTS AND NEEDS, FROM LOWERING THEIR CARBON FOOTPRINT, TO ELEVATING THEIR MOOD, ALL IN A CHILL, LOW-KEY MANNER. THE WAY GEN Z EATS, THINKS AND FEELS INFORMS NEW WELLNESS SERIES AT UPENN MENU
create synergy between Gen Z and the dining team. The Dine Well, Eat Smart series is comprised of monthly dining hall take- overs (unique to each location), with wellness themes, such as “Good Food, Good Mood,” where balanced meals to support mental and emotional health were in the spotlight. “When we decided we wanted to focus on something important to Gen Z, emotional health has come up again and again, from studies we’ve seen and what we are hearing on campus,” says Penn Dining Wellness Manager Sarah Goff. “Emotional health is being talked about a lot more, especially with social media. We’re hearing a lot from stu- dents. Especially after the pandemic. It’s okay to talk about it and one of the top health benefits students are looking for [from food] is better mental health.” Birria Mushroom tacos were a hit at the Dine Well, Eat Smart plant-based taco bar. CULINARY MEETS CULTURE Goff works with chefs on menus, lead- ing with idea starters and letting the chefs add their own culinary stamp. For
T hose who track generational eating habits pretty much agree that Gen Z is obsessed with cus- tomization. A more nuanced look will show that this genera- tion might be more introverted, as well, especially when it comes to the in-your- face, participation-driven chef dem- os and “Fear Factor” style dining hall community-building events of the past. According to University of Pennsyl- vania (UPenn)’s Director of Commu- nications Barbara Lea-Kruger, while students still appreciate seeing a guest chef do a demo, many of them would prefer to send a message to that chef online later that night, rather than shouting out a question. Lea-Kruger finds a low-key dining hall experience is preferred a lot of the time. “Our students do so much multi-tasking that sometimes they just want to go and have a meal, and they may not respond to us shouting, ‘Hey! BY TARA FITZPATRICK
Look what we’re doing over here!’” EMOTIONAL HEALTH GETS TALKED ABOUT (FINALLY!) The dining team at UPenn paired their own in-person conversations and student surveys with outside research on Gen Z. Evidence-based wellness data and trends played into a new series called Dine Well, Eat Smart that develops holistic programming to
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When we decided we wanted to focus on something important to Gen Z, emotional health has come up again and again, from studies we’ve seen and what we are hearing on campus,” - Sarah Goff
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FSD QUARTERLY
Q2 2024
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PHOTO COURTESY OF SHUTTERSTOCK
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