Moravian Academy has enjoyed a partnership of over 30 years with Sodexho, formerly known as The Wood Company.

Dining is an important part of everyday life at the school.  Our lunch program seeks to provide meals that are well-balanced and nutritionally sound.

Michelle Sheridan has been the food service director at Moravian Academy since August 1998.  Prior to that, she was employed as the Catering Manager at Kutztown University and Ursinus College , the Food Production Manager at Lafayette College , and assistant Director of Dining Services at DeSales University .  Michelle’s responsibilities at Moravian include menu development, catering, customer service, training, and merchandising.   Michelle is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.  She celebrated fifteen years of employment with Wood-Sodexho in 2005.   

Ken Stein, the chef at Moravian Academy is a graduate of the New York City Technical College .  He holds an A.A. S. Degree in Hotel and Restaurant Technology.  Since moving to the Lehigh Valley , Ken has held the following positions:  Executive Chef at Lafayette College and Cedar Crest College , Cash Operations Manager at Cedar Crest College , and now the chef at Moravian Academy .  Ken has been a part of the Moravian family since September 2000.  He oversees the kitchen staff at the Upper, Middle, and Lower Schools.  He is responsible for menu planning, preparation, and food quality for the student menus and for all catered functions held on the Moravian campuses.  He is also responsible for the cleanliness of the kitchen facilities.  Ken is a valued member of the dining services staff.  He celebrated twenty years of employment with Wood-Sodexho in 2005. 

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Your Dining Services Team at Moravian Academy is committed to providing an exciting menu of nutritious, freshly prepared items and playing an active role in the health and well-being of the students we serve.

We do this through a program that incorporates solid nutritional guidelines into our recipe collection, and promote nutrition awareness through printed materials. Our menus feature a heart healthy entree item daily with the nutritional information posted. We also offer many vegetarian items and encourage students to try new things.

Please visit Sodexho’s nutrition website designed specifically for our Independent Schools. There you will find informative nutrition links, a dietitian ready to answer your questions and other exciting material.

Moravian Academy cares! See what your Dining Services team does on campus to promote healthy eating

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Portion Distortion

By Susan Hurd, RD LDN
Regional Dietitian
Sodexo Dining Services

Supersized Distortion

Do you know the phrase “Your eyes bigger than your stomach”?  It emphasizes the feeling of fullness after eating.  Americans’ eyes, and waist sizes, have been getting bigger over the last several decades.  Obesity in adolescents aged 12-19 has doubled and has more than tripled for those aged 6-11.     Higher body weights are associated with diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome.  These diseases, once typically adult problems, are on the rise in our young population. While there are many reasons for overweight and obesity in the US , the supersizing of our foods has led to a distorted view of proper portion sizes and thus influences us to consume more calories than we need. 

Where are the calories coming from?

Research from the American Dietetic Association found that portions of restaurant food are sometimes eight times that of recommended amounts. Some foods are two to five times larger than when originally introduced into the marketplace.

For example, twenty years ago a small soda at a fast food restaurant averaged 9.5 ounces. Today, child-sizes are 12 ounces, and smalls average 16 ounces.  If you drink one small beverage per week, today, you would consume 115 more calories than before.  This change in portion size translates into almost 6,000 calories, or the equivalent to 1.5 pounds of body weight, over the course of one year.  Imagine if you drink something other than a small and more often in the week which many do.

The Challenge to Right-Size

The USDA food pyramid suggests the numbers of servings of each food group for youth.

Take the challenge to right-size your portions.  Next time you fill your plate, estimate the amount of food you have.  Then, actually measure your food using measuring cups and a food scale.  See how accurate you really are.  Check out www.mypyramid.gov for more tools to help you estimate better.  Next time you help yourself to a meal or dine out, pay attention to the amount of food on your plate,

Is There an Easier Way ?

Don’t have measuring cups at your disposal?  Use the following information as a frame of reference.

Food label logic

Many also do not pay attention to the number of servings marked on food labels.  For instance, a package may list the food has 2.5 servings.  If you consume the entire package, then you’ve eaten 2.5 times the recommended portion for that food.  For example, if you choose a 20 oz bottle of a fruit juice, first, make sure it is 100% juice, and second, try not to consume the entire amount in one sitting.  Remember, according to the food pyramid, most need 1.5 cups or fruit/day, preferably as whole fruit.  Drinking the entire 20 oz bottle in one sitting gives you almost twice the amount of fruit and calories you may need. Not to mention that juice is a processed food, so you’ll be missing out on the fiber and nutrients found in whole fruit. 

Environmental Impact

Conscientiously choosing more appropriate portions impacts the environment by reducing the amount of resources need to produce, process, package, and transport food.  Right-sizing can make a difference to the health of not only you, but the environment too.  

References:

The American Dietetic Association; www.eatright.org
Institute of Medicine ; www.iom.edu
www.mypyramid.gov

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