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Safe, Healthy Meals Start with Education
We believe in the power of education. Our presence on campus extends from the dining
hall to the classroom and beyond.
We want students to get their hands dirty in our campus gardens. We want
people to ask questions: Where is it from? How was it made? Which ingredients did
you use?
We arm our guests with the knowledge and resources to maintain a healthy
lifestyle. We empower students to make educated decisions about their health and
diets.
Food is both an art and a science. SAGE is here to give you the best of both.
The SAGE Spotlight Program®
All Foods Fit when you practice: Variety, Balance, and Moderation
The Spotlight Program provides nutrition education on how to fuel your body and foster a positive relationship with food.
Each menu item is assigned a color that indicates its nutrient density. To assign a Spotlight color, we use a formula to calculate nutrient density based on the latest USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
What is nutrient density?
- • Nutrient density is the proportion of nutrients that are recommended we eat more often to those that are recommended we eat less often.
- • Foods higher in nutrient density contain more of the nutrition our bodies need to function.
Look for the color-coded Spotlights on the online menu, Touch of SAGE mobile app, and on signs in your dining hall. Choose foods you enjoy, using this as a guide to build your plate.
Check out this video to learn more!
Add a variety of these foods to at least half your plate.
Performance Spotlight™
Perform. Persist. Perfect.
At SAGE, we know that sports are an important part of students’ holistic
development, as well as your recruitment efforts. We understand that student
athletes have different nutritional needs because of their high activity levels.
Our Performance Spotlight™ program incorporates the necessary nutrients at the
appropriate times for fueling optimal performance.
The program, which draws upon guidelines laid out by the United States Olympic
Committee, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and other major sports
nutrition associations, provides educational material to guide student athletes’ food
choices at lunch, offers team meals and snacks, and incorporates house-made, clean
label sports drinks and bars.
Check out this video to learn more!
Educational Seasonings
Learning about food can be fun and interesting
Once a month, the SAGE team transforms your dining hall into an interactive dining experience. We use creative displays, informational guides, and tasting stations to bring each new topic to life. Guests have the chance to see, touch, taste, and learn about exciting new types of food.Educational Seasonings introduce students to foods that might be unfamiliar to them. Past topics have included international and historical cuisine, unusual or uncommon foods, etiquette and manners, seasonal produce, methods of preparation and preservation, and much more.
Indulge your senses
We encourage everyone to get up close and personal with the featured foods. Educational Seasonings are interactive events.We also offer customized lesson plans so faculty can extend each event to the classroom. Teach the history of Thanksgiving and allow students to taste the foods that would have been served at the original event.
Our Approach to Allergies
Everyone deserves a safe meal
Do you have a food allergy or a restrictive diet? Do you eat gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan?No worries! No matter what, you'll be able to enjoy a safe, delicious meal in any SAGE dining hall.
Our chefs work with you and your community to identify common allergens and diets. Then we customize each menu to suit your needs.
We believe in clear communication
Anyone with a food allergy or restriction can speak with the SAGE team so we can address your specific needs or concerns.Our chefs prepare menus in advance. We encourage students with allergies and restrictions to review these ahead of time. Our Food Service Directors, along with the rest of our team, are happy to discuss each day's menu, recipes and ingredient lists.
Serve It Safely
Our Serve It Safely initiative teaches SAGE teams to identify and control potential
hazards in the kitchen. We train our managers to avoid cross contact and show our teams how to identify the “hidden ingredients” in packaged and processed foods.
Plan Your Meals
Managers prepare their menus in advance, our registered dietitians review them, then the
menus appear online. Our online menus include full ingredient lists and allow you to filter for common food allergens.
Visit Our Kitchen
You are welcome to tour our kitchen. Our staff will guide you through the facility so
you can review procedures and check for hidden allergens in our inventory.
We care about our students
Open Communication is essential
Eating disorders are a growing problem among school-age children and
young adults. Every year, more and more students are diagnosed with these
life-threatening conditions all around the country. This is an extremely
delicate matter – one that must be handled with tact and subtlety, to
protect the students in our care.
We understand the risks.
For more than 10 years, SAGE has partnered with the Eating Recovery Center of Maryland (formerly The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt).
Together, we’ve developed training materials that all Team Members are required to complete.
We teach them to recognize the early warning signs and changes in behavior that may signal an eating disorder.
We then communicate our concerns to school administrators discreetly and
effectively. This program has helped numerous young people receive the
medical care they need to treat and beat this serious illness each year.
We are the only food service provider to initiate a program of this kind.
We're making a difference, one student at a time.
