Selecting Foods for Meetings and Conferences – Strengthening Nutritional Resiliency and Sustainable Food Systems through Key Partnerships

Nutrition is a key domain relevant to human resiliency. Nutritional fitness contributes to resilience by helping individuals maintain a healthy weight and avoid diseases that affect physical and cognitive functions. Leading causes of preventable death, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, are related to diet and obesity. The United States annually spends an estimated $147 billion on medical costs related to obesity; and approximately 20 percent to 30 percent of employers’ annual health care costs pay for employees with modifiable risk factors, including poor diets and obesity. Organizations regularly provide foods and beverages at meetings and events for people they serve and employ. Decisions about what to serve create opportunities to cut costs, benefit local economies, meet trends in consumer preferences, avoid unhealthy offerings, maintain productivity, and for health-focused organizations to practice what they teach. Workers add an average of 1,300 calories each week by eating foods obtained at work, with more than 70 percent coming from free food. Surveys indicate that the majority of employees want more healthy options in the workplace. System-level changes can help create sustainable impacts. Recommendations from the USDA and Cooperative Extension's National Framework for Health and Wellness call for organizational-level changes that provide consistent healthier options. Although many organizations, including OSU Extension, have healthy eating at meetings guidelines place, evaluation data suggest that food and beverage offerings do not align well with dietary recommendations. Serving locally grown food – especially as an ongoing practice – benefits the local economy and the environment, and lets you know more about how the food was grown and handled. Meal planners and approvers face challenges. Selecting what to serve may be perceived as complicated, time-consuming, costly, and something they do not have much control over. They may be unaware of available planning resources and local producers, and may not realize caterers’ willingness to meet customer requests. Through key partnerships, organizations can overcome those challenges. The National Farm to School Network, for example, has a record of success. NFSN worked with caterers at venues in Texas, Wisconsin, and Ohio for their conferences (about 900 to 1,200 participants) to serve local foods AND meet nutritional recommendations. At NFSN's April 2018 national conference held in Cincinnati, more than 60 percent of foods served were sourced locally. The NFSN menu offerings are appealing, flavorful, and low in sugar, fat, and sodium. They consistently receive high satisfaction ratings from participants. Case studies of NFSN successes and their reliance on partnerships with Extension, state agencies, and local organizations, including food hubs and producers, will be shared. Participants will explore ways to address challenges, including strategies for planning menus and controlling costs.AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Carol Smathers, assistant professor, OSU Extension, family and consumer sciences, smathers.14@osu.edu (Corresponding Author); Amy Fovargue, OSU Extension program coordinator; Tracey Starkovich, operations and events manager, National Farm to School NetworkNutrition is central to human resiliency. Nutritional fitness helps individuals maintain a healthy weight and avoid diseases that affect physical and cognitive functions. Leading causes of preventable death are related to diet and obesity. Decisions about which foods and beverages to serve at organization meetings create opportunities to cut costs, benefit local economies, encourage healthy eating, meet consumer preferences, and maintain productivity. Many individuals perceive planning menus and finding local foods as time-consuming, costly, and something dictated by caterers. However, through key partnerships, they can overcome these challenges. The National Farm to School Network (NFSN) worked with caterers at venues in Texas, Wisconsin, and Ohio to serve local foods AND meet nutritional recommendations at their conferences. Case studies of NFSN successes and their partnerships with Extension, state agencies, and others will explain strategies for healthier event menus