Wright Quad launches health food campaign

After returning from spring break, students dining in the Wright Food Court were offered a healthy alternative to the usual cafeteria choices as Residential Programs and Services launched its new Eat Wright concept.\nThe Eat Wright concept involves putting all of the healthy choices in the Wright food court in one quick stop for students. The salad bar, potato bar, soups and a new panini station are all situated together to form Eat Wright. The new concept also includes the addition of fruit salad to the salad bar, as well as the option of one entrée, which changes daily. There are plans to increase the number of entrées to two by next fall. \nThe Eat Wright concept was designed to help erase negative views on the kinds of foods available in the food courts, said Mark Winstead, manager of the Wright Food Court.\n"There has been a stigma that you can't eat healthy in the food courts," Winstead said. "We're trying to re-educate and show students the things we do have that are healthy and that the choice ultimately resides in the customer." \nIn addition to offering students healthier meal choices, Eat Wright provides nutritional information to students so they can educate themselves and make healthy choices elsewhere in the food court. Registered dietician Heidi Boruff is making pamphlets with suggestions of where to find each of the major portions of the food pyramid within the food courts. In the coming months, a message board providing different nutritional facts will be designed and displayed next to the Eat Wright station in the food court.\n"The goal of Eat Wright is to provide a central place where students can go as a starting point for the rest of the court, but also a source of information," Boruff said.\nA team composed of Boruff and Winstead, the other managers and chefs from Wright and others created the concept. The team began meeting and planning in early February, and its goal was to have Eat Wright up and running after spring break, which it accomplished successfully.\n"The exciting nature of this new concept is that it was designed by students and staff working together to create a healthier residential community at Indiana University," said Sam Scarpino, chairman of RPS meal plan committee.\nAlong with the Eat Wright concept, other developments are in works for the future. The department is currently working on a Web site where customers can type in a potential menu and look up the nutritional information, Winstead said.\nThe current setup of the Eat Wright station is not the final product. A second entrée will hopefully be added by the end of the semester, but will be available in the fall, Winstead said. Marketing containing nutritional information for students to use to make healthy decisions will also be available. In the future, similar concepts will be launched at the Gresham Food Court and possibly other areas as well, Winstead said.\n"We mainly wanted to get the students' attention even though it's not up to full expectations yet," Boruff said. "We want to let them see that things will be different every day"