Yale University: Week Eight

The Final Week as a Yale Dining Intern

Myself, Veronica (our internship advisor), and Nicole.

Nicole and I wrapped up our eighth and final week as Yale NACUFS interns by polishing up some projects and enjoying the rest of our time in New Haven at Yale University. On Monday we met with the Student Wellness Health Educator, Haley, one last time to give her the bulletin board project we put together and shared the rest of the nutrition education materials Nicole and I have designed. The nutrition education projects Nicole and I have developed over the past eight weeks have included a "portion perspective" bulletin board,  napkin holder nutrition fun facts, a Yale version of MyPlate, gluten free awareness information for dining staff, and allergen information that will be available to those who eat in the dining halls. We also met with a current dietetic intern at Yale New Haven Hospital this week who gave us an overview of the internship program and introduced us to her director, as well as other individuals she has worked with. We worked another shift in the Yale Bake Shop where we pressed pie crusts, rolled cheesecake pops, and iced cakes. Our final day was filled with one last Uncommon Market shift, final farewells, and appreciation to the staff at Yale Dining.    

Tuesday evening after work we headed to East Rock Park where we hiked to the top of New Haven.

A sample of some of the projects Nicole and I undertook during our time at Yale.

A rough version of the bulletin board material Nicole and I created, which will be displayed in the Yale Student Wellness office.

                             A view of the Eatec screen Nicole and I became very familiar with over the past eight weeks. 

A sample of the napkin card displays Nicole and I designed.

Summary...

This internship has given us a better view of the complexity of operating a university foodservice operation. We have witnessed how difficult it is to communicate information throughout a hierarchy, from central office staff to the managers to the foodservice workers. Everyone has different concerns, but all must come together to achieve Yale Dining's ultimate goal, to provide excellence in hospitality. Although we spent most of our time in the central office, we were able to interact with managers throughout Yale's dining operation and become familiar with many of the foodservice workers, which allowed us to see all perspectives of the operation.The beginning of our internship coincided with the implementation of a new food inventory and purchasing system, Eatec, which gave us first hand experience in dealing with the pros and cons of a new system. While the central office staff worked diligently to get the new system up and running, it was evident that many of the long-time staff was hesitant to the change. Although the new system has its bugs to be fixed, in the long run, it will hopefully be a more convenient and efficient system for Yale Dining. Nicole and I found this to be a very unique and worthwhile experience. We are very appreciative of the individuals at Yale Dining, specifically to our advisor, Veronica Arcoraci, who contributed to making the past eight weeks a summer we will never forget.

Goodbye Yale Dining!

Yale University: Week Seven

Week seven was filled with a variety of experiences and interactions including meetings, baking, farming, and of course a little Eatec work. Here's the highlights of our week...

Yale Bake Shop

On Wednesday, our work day started off earlier than usual in order for us to begin our 6:30am shift at the bake shop. We were part of the last shift of bakers to arrive, some employees clocking into work at 2:00am. The first sweet treat Nicole and I assisted in preparing was a custard filling. While Nicole monitored the boiling milk, I had the messy task of cracking and separating egg yolks from the egg whites. After taste testing the deliciously rich, creamy custard, we helped fill the pre-baked, homemade pie crust with a homemade chocolate creme filling. While we let the pies cool before adding the whipped cream topping, Nicole and I scooped cupcake batter into 80+ cupcake pans. As you can tell by the pictures below, dishing up cupcake batter can be a messing task. By the time we were complete with the cupcakes, the chocolate pies were cooled and ready to be decorated. After being given a brief lesson on how to work a piping bag (it is way harder than you would think!), we were entrusted with the task of topping the pies with homemade whipped cream and chocolate topping. I wouldn't go as far to say we were pie decorating pros by the end, but with a generous amount of chocolate sprinkled over the top, our less than perfect topping designs looked presentable. The bake shop was a very fun environment to work in and the delicious smell of fresh baked goods contributed to the experience as well. The staff was really easy-going and were not afraid to tease us about our novice baking skills. 

Meetings

Because the Executive Director of Yale Dining, Rafi Taherian, will be out of town during our final week at Yale (next week), we had opportunity to speak with him one last time to summarize our experiences and provide him with our feedback. We reviewed with him the nutrition information we had inputted into the software system Eatec and expressed some of our concerns we had about the upkeep and inputting of the nutritional information in the future. We also talked with him about the knowledge we gained regardingYale Dining's efforts in sustainable purchasing. He was very receptive to our feedback and concerns and very apologetic about the fact that he is unable to bid us farewell next week.   

Another meeting we had this week was with the Finance Director, Howard Bobb. Our meeting was cut a little short with him, however he was able to give us a brief overview of how Yale Dining expenses are broken down. We also attended another meeting with Howard, along with the Marketing and Branding Director, Bill Wilson, and our supervisor, the Culinary Operations Manager, Veronica Arcoraci, regarding the new recipe cards that are going to be rolling out in the fall and displayed above each menu item being served. We all met with designers at Yale Printing and Publishing about the new design and what they could do to accommodate to Yale Dining's new need. 

In December of this year, Yale Dining will be opening a central commissary where their catering and baking operations will relocate to and where bulk food production for the dining halls will take place. Since this facility is located a few block from campus, Dan Flynn, the Dining Asset Renewal Manger, took the time to give us a tour. Although there is not construction currently underway, we were able to see the space that the new commissary is going to fill since it will be constructed within a existing building. After showing us the blueprints for the space, Dan took us to Yale's West Campus, located several miles away, and gave us a tour of the dining facility being operated there. West Campus consists of 20 buildings, 7 acres, and 1.6 million square feet of space that is going to be utilized for Yale's scientific research and other academic programs. There are currently less than 200 employees that work within this vast campus, however within the next 10 years or so the space is expected to fill and the dining operation there is capable of expansion to accommodate the growing needs. 

Yale Farm

This week we spent a day working on the Yale Farm, which is a component of Yale's Sustainable Food Project. The farm is a place for Yale students to experience agriculture, food, and sustainability. During our workday, Nicole and I started the day by picking edamame, kale, leeks, and green peppers that were going to be sold at the weekend farmer's market in New Haven. We got our hands dirty by weeding and preparing some ground for planting and finished the day by clipping tomato plants. Also located on the farm is a pavilion with a brick pizza oven, where for lunch we made homemade pizzas topped with the fresh vegetables from the garden. We also had fresh cut salads with homemade vinaigrette dressings.

Myself and Nicole after a long, rainy day at the farm.

Yale Farm occupies 1 acre of land.

Summary

The reality that this was our second-to-last week as Yale NACUFS interns really sank in after our final discussion with the executive director this week. It is weird to think that we will be wrapping up our lives here in New Haven in the upcoming week and reflecting on our entire 8 weeks very soon. 

Yale University: Week Six

Soaking Up Knowledge and Some Sun

While our internship director was away this week enjoying the California sun, Nicole and I tried to beat the New Haven heat wave by savoring our time in the air-condioned office. Our focus on Eatec this week was the sustainability aspect. Since Yale Dining has such a strong focus on purchasing sustainable food, they want to be able track the sustainable products they are purchasing and be able to relay this to their customers. In the fall, once Eatec is fully functioning, they plan on displaying any

sustainability information relevant to each menu item on the recipe display cards, along with the nutritional and allergen information. Nicole and I had the opportunity to hear Gerry Remer, the Director of Supply Chain and Sustainability for Yale Dining, speak to a summer class at Yale's School of Environmental Studies and Forestry. Although we had both interacted with Gerry before and have heard general information on Yale's sustainability efforts, this was a great opportunity for us to hear more detailed information on the subject. When purchasing a product, the sustainability characteristics that are considered are divided into five categories: Regional, Eco-Sensitive, Fair, Health and Wellness, and Humane. When possible and economically efficient, Yale Dining tries to source items that are within a 300 mile radius of New Haven, CT. This is often a challenging task due to the short growing season in the region, being surrounded by ocean on one side of the land, and striving to keep fresh products available to the surrounding community. Under the category of eco-sensitive falls organic, integrated pest management, and carbon and water impact of production and transportation methods. All the paper products Yale uses in their dining facilities are all compostable and they have established a trayless dining system. A product is labeled with the sustainability characteristic of fair if it comes from a family owned company, if it is a fair trade item, and/or if a product is rainforest alliance certified. Categorized under the label humane are products where the animals were humanely raised and/or raised free range/cage free. Under the last sustainability category of health and wellness falls the labels of antibiotic free, hormone free, vegetarian fed, all natural, and GMO free. Yale Dining sustainability goals include purchasing 37% of products from sustainable sources, reducing energy use by 20%, reducing output to landfills by 30%, and increasing sustainability awareness to students, staff, and guests. Yale Dining recognizes that not all products purchased can be labeled as sustainable, but they are very conscious of the products they purchase and their sources. Yale Dining strives to be sustainable through purchasing, reducing, recycling, and education.

Site Visits
In order to check in on the processing facilities of local products, every few years Gerry, along with her sustainability and sourcing coordinator, Betty Binkley, plan visits to the production sites. This week we visited two New Haven sites where Yale purchases products from, Palmieri Food Products and Lamberti Sausage Company.  Palmieri Food Products is a small pasta sauce producing company and Lamberti Sausage Company is a family-owned sausage producing company. It was interesting to see where some of the products Yale purchases comes from directly and what conditions the products were made under.

Retail Operations
This week we got to experience the retail side of Yale Dining by meeting with BettyeJo, who is the retail manager at Yale's  KBT Cafe, Health Center Cafe, and is also the general manager for Marigolds Catering. She gave us a brief description of the 10 retail locations Yale has throughout campus and gave us a tour of several of them. The retail locations offer grab-n-go options for students and many of them serve as coffee cafes as well. The central kitchen that BettyeJo also oversees prepares the grab-n-go sandwich and salad options that are distributed to the various retail locations across campus.

Registered Dietitians
Since Nicole and I are both nutrition majors aspiring to be registered dietitians, we have been seeking the opportunity throughout our time in NewHaven to meet with RDs that are employed for Yale. This week we got the chance to meet with two RDs, one working as the employee wellness manager and the other working as a research associate.

Being Well at Yale
Lisa Kimmel is a registered dietitian who is a Certified Nutritionist and Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. She has a Master's degree in Exercise Physiology and is currently the Wellness Manager for Being Well at Yale, the employee wellness program. We had met with Lisa a few weeks ago to discuss with her what we were doing for Yale Dining, so this visit was an opportunity for her to share with us what she was doing for the employee wellness program. This upcoming year she wants shift her focus to the Yale Dining employees and cater to the needs of that population. Each week the dining employees of each residential college dining hall have family meals. During these family meals, Lisa wants to bring a physician and health staff to them to perform basic health screenings. At these screenings, Lisa would like the employees to fill out self evaluation forms. While with Lisa, we helped her brainstorm ideas of how to format the evaluation sheet for employees to fill out, which would highlight their concerns, needs, and their desire to make a lifestyle change(s). The informational sheet is going to be formatted in a simple manner that emphasizes the purpose is to meet each employee's specific needs and concerns. Lifestyle changes that are highlighted on the sheet include weight management, diabetes management, smoking cessation, personal relationships, stress relief, eating healthier, etc. She is hoping that by reaching out to this specific employee population and catering to their needs she will be able to assist them in utilizing all health resources available to them on campus and help those who are willing make positive lifestyle changes. 

Yale Rudd Center For Food Policy & Obesity
The second registered dietitian we met with this week was Christina Munsell. Christina has a Master's degree in Health Care Policy and Management and works as a research associate at Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. The Rudd Center is a non-profit organization that is funded by grants and researches topics centered around food policy and obesity. The center has numerous research teams that focus on different topics such as school food, weight bias, economics, and food marketing. Christina works largely in part with the marketing research team focusing on the topic of "food marketing to children." She recently did research on deceptive food marketing, the labeling of energy drinks as a supplement vs. a beverage, and how food is labeled to parents. She is very passionate about food policy and encouraged us to look for job opportunities in this area in the future. 

Nutrition Fact Cards
To fill our time when we were in the office, Nicole and I developed nutrition fact cards that can be displayed in the napkin holders in the dining halls. We both researched a variety of nutrition topics and made fun, easy to read cards to keep people entertained while dining. We covered a variety of topics from portion sizes to vitamins to foods that boost your memory. We thought it would be a great way to give people some general nutrition information and possibly spark their interest to research the various topics more. 

To Conclude... This week was filled with a wide variety of experiences and insights. We braved the extreme heat to have the rewarding experience of working at the weekly Uncommon Market again, we were given a lot of insight into the opportunities that are available to dietitians outside of the clinical setting, and we were more informed on what steps Yale Dining takes to be sustainable. We spent the weekend avoiding our non-air conditioned rooms by shopping and enjoying the hammocks provided in one of the Yale college courtyards. 

Yale University: Week Five

How the time flies!

It's crazy to think that we just finished week five of our NACUFS internship and that we finally completed our data entry into Eatec!!!!!!!.......Well, sort of. If you have been keeping up with our blog, you already know that Nicole and I's big project for Yale Dining has been entering nutritional facts, product ingredients, allergen information, and brand name and owner into their software system, Eatec, for the food products they purchase for their operation. This week we completed the tedious process of entering this information as accurately as possible for the 1800+ products that are currently available in the system. Although new items are being added and the product information we entered will need updated regularly to keep the nutrition facts as up to date and reliable  as possible, we are spending the rest of our time at Yale working on a different aspect of Eatec, inputing the sustainability characteristics of each food product. In order to help keep the nutrition data entry uniformed in the future when others update the information, Nicole and I wrote up a policy and procedure document that people will be able to reference. On top of working in Eatec, Nicole and I have also been working on some side projects, including revising allergen information that will be present in the residential dining halls and designing a bulletin board that presents food portion information and how students can practice portion control when eating in the buffet style dining options. This week also presented the opportunity to attend a cook's testing and meet with Yale's Student Wellness Director, Haley McCarthy. We concluded our week by assisting at the Uncommon (farmer's) Market, that takes place every Friday.

Ingredient Identifiers

To further our progress on the allergen information revision process, Nicole, Veronica (our internship director), and myself, met with the Director of Marketing & Branding, Bill Wilson. Bill has created the icons that will be representing the allergens and other ingredient identifiers, which are going to be displayed on recipe cards in the residential dining halls. What we have been working on is providing explanations for all the ingredient identifiers (wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, vegetarian, vegan, pork, and alcohol) that people commonly avoid due to an allergy or lifestyle choice. We offered our suggestions to Bill about how the icons can be displayed on the recipe cards when printed and brought up our concern about how "may contains and/or processed in a facility" ingredients should be represented. The topic of ingredient identifiers and how to accurately display them in the dining halls has been a very concerning issue for us that we hope to find a solution to soon. We will keep you updated on the results of this project as we progress further. 

Bulletin Board

Nicole and I wanted to create a bulletin board that was visually pleasing, fun, and relative to the student population. Keeping these factors in mind, we chose to create a bulletin board based on the topic of portion sizes. We feel that this is a subject many people have a distorted view about and we have noticed that the plates and bowls offered in the dining halls are very large in size, which is very misleading when you are portioning out the food yourself. On our bulletin board, we are creating a "Yale Plate" in which we are discussing the recommended serving sizes for each of the five food groups, and informing people what the appropriate portion size of popular dining hall options are. We are also highlighting the nutrition facts of the beverages that are served in the dining halls as well as the popular dessert of ice cream. A serving size of ice cream is 1/2 cup, however the bowls that are provided to dish the ice cream into have the capcity to hold 24 fluid ounces. To give students a fun, visual representation of an appropriate portion of ice cream, we are designing ice cream cones with 1, 2, and 3 scoops of ice cream on them. Along side of the cones we are providing the nutrition facts and providing suggestions as to how to avoid over serving themselves. This is just a few of the items we are going to be covering on the bulletin board, but we will make sure to post pictures of the final product when we are complete. 

Student Wellness

Haley McCarthy, the Director of Student Wellness, was kind enough to meet with us this week and provide us with a tour of the Yale Health building. This building was constructed about 2 years ago and houses the Yale Campus Medical Center for students and employees to use. This "mini" hospital provides professional care in Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology or Pediatrics. It also has a full service pharmacy and a cafe for visitors. Haley has a Masters Degree in Public Health and her primary role as the wellness director is to coordinate and support health and wellness programs for undergraduate and graduate students on Yale's campus. To assist her in the development of these programs, each year she has a group of Peer Health Educators that help her facilitate undergrad programs and graduate Wellness Fellows that help her coordinate grad programs. Since coming into her position a little less than 2 years ago, Haley's primary focus in her programs has been sexual education and stress relief. In the upcoming year she is hoping to have a few programs centered around nutrition topics and sought are advice on topics she could cover and fun activities that could compliment the topics. Nicole and I discussed with her the bulletin board we are putting together on portion control and Haley is hoping to use it to display for student wellness. We have the opportunity to speak with Haley again this upcoming week and are in the process of brainstorming more program ideas for her to use. 

Cooks Testing

In order to move up in a cook's position, the applicant must undergo and pass a cook's test. The applicant is given the recipes they must prepare, a prep period the night before, and two hours to prepare the meal the day of. The cook has to prepare the designated food items for 20 people and plate the food for six. The judges of the meal have high culinary knowledge and currently work for Yale Dining. The food was rated by each judge on a 10pt. scale according to appearance, temperature, taste, etc. If the applicant passes the test, they are eligible to move up to a higher cook position, if they fail, a development plan is designed for them and if completed within a certain time period, they are eligible to test again when a cook's position becomes available. 

This is the list of menu items the cook had to prepare. The testing consisted of the preparation of two meals, with service being two hours apart.

Cream of mushroom soup.

The judges evaluating the soup.

The herb and honey roasted salmon.