Rebecca Welp

George Elliott, the nutritionist, spoke about eating disorders and what to watch for. Warning signs, bulimia in particular, are not as prominent as they once were. Cindy Johnson-Groh suggested that it may be beneficial for George Elliott to speak to the faculty. George has a PowerPoint presentation that is available for anybody that wants it. George Elliott showed how airbrushed magazine covers set unrealistic and unattainable standards. She has good info and good examples that you wouldn’t normally think about, such as “diet” being mentioned on every cover.

The Blood Drive is coming March 11-12. They will be distributing information via table tents about:

• What to eat before you give blood (foods high in iron)
• Restrictions on giving blood based on where in the world you have been
• The importance of proper hydration
• What to do after you have given blood

Lisa Heldke asked what Dining Services should do to promote Health Service initiatives. Bookmarks were suggested.

Need to create such a demand for George that she is here more often because she is such a great resource for the College. Jim Dontje suggested bringing George on for a special program. Steve asked about eating disorders statistics.

Rebecca Welp asked about the disparity in price between different people paying for food in the Market Place and asked if it is normal. Steve said that it is the consumers’ responsibility to determine if they are being charged appropriately for their purchases. He expects that they make mistakes frequently but doesn’t hear about them. When he gets an email about being improperly charged, he always resolves them appropriately. The prices for all of the items are posted everywhere, so it is easy to determine how much you will spend.

Upcoming in Health Service

• They have a question and answer box and they will be posting the answers after the blood drive.
• DermaScan is coming
• Free HIV testing last week. It is as easy as swabbing the inside of the mouth and completely confidential.
• Relay for Life
• Eppies are doing diabetes tests

Kim Braun

• Doing research
• Hosting “Lunch and Learn” with Rachel Slater on March 13 at 12:30.
• Social Theatre – Cindy Johnson-Groh suggested food waste as a topic.
• May be talking in Cindy Johnson-Groh’s biology class soon.
• GustieWare comparison chart thermometer.

Steve Kjellgren

This year is the first try at combining meal plan dollars for December, January, and February. Under 400 out of 1,800 students as of March 1 had in excess of $40.00 remaining in their accounts. Considers it a success, but many of these people came on the last day in February to buy take-away goods that had already been sold. Steve believes that we need to do something with J-Term institutionally. One way to address the problem is if we know that students are going to be here during J-Term before Fall semester, we could divide their J-Term money throughout the Fall term. There is a disparity in perception about cafeteria accounts. Students see it as their money but the College sees it as the College’s money.

This is the first year of doing a month-by-month plan for student cafeteria accounts. It seems to be an improvement.

Jim Dontje is trying not to duplicate information gathering by his students.

Food waste: what is happening with the leftovers? Augsburg sends theirs to a nearby soup kitchen. Mankato has come and started picking up leftovers on a few instances, and every time they discontinued it because there is no consistency in quantity or quality of the leftovers. We do a very good job with re-use and not having leftovers in the first place. Does Gustavus compost? We are going to start. It has been a long process. “What happens to the leftovers?” would be a good blog post.

Lisa Heldke

Sam Grace is taking photos and finalizing recipe booklet. He wants to organize a Gustavus “Top Chef” event and will post a sample picture and recipe from his project to the blog.

Jim Dontje

The Energy Challenge is very good. Gustavus is down another 6% and have maintained the 6% that we dropped last year. Lisa said that more reminders would be good. Jim has a poster and will have something in the Yellow Sheet.

Gustavus is in the top third for RecycleMania, so we are doing pretty well. We are developing the consciousness of sustainable practices, which is a great first step.

Received approval for doing some intensive and detailed energy usage monitoring on a per-appliance basis. Will be testing in Olin and then expanding to elsewhere across campus. Trying to get an understanding of where we are using the most energy.

Cindy Johnson-Groh

The farm project is reminiscent of the first go-around. Emphasised that it needs to start small and simple and have an understanding of everything that is involved. They have created a student group, have an advisor (Jim Dontje), and are recruiting students. They need to write up a strategic plan. They have applied for a grant. Even if the garden fails, if something is learned it will be a success. How does the Community Service Center play into this project? What can the Kitchen Cabinet do to help them along?

Dr. Heldke’s earlier post warned diners to be wary of the Portion Creep! This warning is not to be taken lightly….the Creep’s been spotted all over the MarketPlace this week – leaving a nasty trail of Big Eyes, Small Stomachs, and partially eaten meals.

Throughout the Spring Semester, please watch for Nutrition Awareness research, programs, and campaigns on Campus. The Kitchen Cabinet’s ‘Choices at the Table’ Intern – Kim Braun, A student Marketing Research group, and The Gustavus Health Service Dietician will all be actively working on behalf of Gustie’s nutritional health education and promoting good dining practices and healthy choices. Stay tuned….

On behalf of the Dining Service Staff and Kitchen Cabinet, Welcome to Spring Semester 2009, and as always – send recipe or menu requests/comments to chef_jake@gustavus.edu !