10A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2008
》 HEALTH
Taking a bite out of poor nutrition
New punch cards promote healthy eating in campus eateries, reward students with free food
BY MARY SORRICK msorrick@kansan.com
Dining Services has teamed up with Better Bites to reward students for healthy eating with new Better Bites punch cards.
Students who buy five Better Bites entrees at retail cafeterias on campus can get the sixth item for free with the punch cards. Filled punch cards also earn students a free water bottle from Watkins Memorial Health Center.
Ann Chapman, coordinator of Nutritional Services, said she
Photos by Mindy Ricketskus/KANSAN Students receive a free water bottle along with one free food item after filling up a Better Bites punch card. Dining Services worked with Better Bites to create the punch cards.
developed the cards to promote healthy eating among students.
The punch cards, distributed in January, apply to Better Bites entrees bought at The Market, The Underground and The Crimson Café. Better Bites entrees contain fewer than 600 calories and 24 grams of fat, in accordance with American Heart Association standards, Chapman said.
ChapmanandH.O.M.E.B.A.S.E., an organization through Student Health Services that focuses on body acceptance, healthy eating and physical fitness, introduced the Better Bites program to retail and residential cafeterias on campus in 2003.
Shant Thomas, marketing manager for Dining Services at the University, said the Better Bites program took off because of an
increased interest in nutritional food.
"Far and away student tastes have changed," Thomas said.
Alecia Stultz, assistant director of retail for Dining Services,
said Grab 'n Go refrigerators in campus cafeterias reflect students' interest in healthier food.
She said 20 percent of the 15,000 Grab 'n Go sandwiches made since Jan. 1 have been Better Bites items.
Pre-made entrées, such as the Better Bites Grab 'n Go sandwiches, are among the items that qualify for the punch card. Stultz also said many items not designated as Better Bites items, such as sandwiches from Brella's, could be made into Better Bites entrees if students order them without the sauce or cheese.
She said KU Dining Services
had not done a good job educating students about the different ways to make an entree fit Better Bites criteria.
A marketing push for the Better Bites punch cards will include flyers and signs that explain how students can customize an order to qualify as a Better Bites item, Stoltz
said.
The Market, The Underground and The Crimson Cafe are currently out of punch cards, but Thomas, who oversees marketing for Dining Services, said the supply of cards would be replenished soon.
Edited by Madeline Hyden
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