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WE TAKE NUTRITION SERIOUSLY

SAGE helps students develop a positive relationship with food and make informed choices. Our Managers and Chefs use SAGE Spotlight Program® to create menus with variety, balance, and moderation. Our Registered Dietitians provide guidance and oversight to ensure that every meal meets SAGE Standards.

Meet Our Dietitians

SAGE's team of Registered Dietitians is the backbone of our nutrition program. They create educational materials, review each menu at every venue, and communicate regularly with Managers to ensure balance across the board. They analyze recipes for nutrition content and assign color-coded Spotlights based on that data.

Our Dietitians work closely with school nurses regarding food allergies. You might see them at a back-to-school night or a parents’ weekend. They're always available behind the scenes to ensure the nutritional balance and safety of each SAGE program.

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Lesley VogelVice President of Food and Nutrition
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Taylor ChanRegistered Dietitian
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Teresa MillerRegistered Dietitian
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Amy RyanRegistered Dietitian
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Amanda ZimmermanRegistered Dietitian

Nutrition FAQs

Do you have a gluten-free menu? How do you handle allergies?

SAGE doesn’t have specific gluten-free/allergen-free menus. Instead, the cornerstone of our program is variety. We believe the vast majority of participants in our dining program will be able to find a balanced meal that’s safe for them to eat. We offer an array of soups, hot entrées, deli selections, a salad bar, and fresh fruits, as well as a variety of beverages, that will satisfy most dietary needs.

Do you serve tree nuts or peanuts? What about peanut butter?

SAGE believes there’s a health risk involved with serving peanuts or tree nuts to children. Children with allergies to peanuts or tree nuts are more likely than children with other food allergies to experience anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening reaction that can be induced by airborne exposure, skin exposure, or ingestion of tree nuts or peanuts. Due to these risks, SAGE doesn’t serve peanuts, tree nuts, or nut oils to school-age children in the dining hall. We allow each school to determine whether, and how, peanut butter may be served.

How do you handle food allergies?

SAGE is committed to providing a safe and healthful dining environment for all community members. We understand the growing incidence of food allergies in our society, and we have crafted our programs to accommodate most individuals safely and sustainably.

Our Serve It Safely initiative educates Team Members and supports students in addressing the most common food allergens. Our Registered Dietitians serve as a resource for our staff, responding to any questions or concerns in handling food allergies.

As most students with food allergies face a lifetime of managing their condition, we don’t make special meals but create varied menus that feature safe foods. SAGE prepares cycle menus in advance, and we particularly encourage students with allergies to review these menus at the beginning of each new cycle. SAGE’s Food Service Directors, as well as our service personnel, are happy to discuss the day's menu, recipes, and ingredient lists for the foods served in the dining hall.

In addition, we have an “open kitchen” policy, which allows parents and students to schedule a time to go through our inventory to check for hidden allergens. Cycle menus change seasonally. When these revisions occur, we encourage interested parties to return to the kitchen to review the new menu, food ingredient lists, and recipes.

How does SAGE source the food it serves? Do you serve organic or sustainable foods? How about hormone-free animal products?

SAGE creates unique menus for each school community. Our menus change seasonally to reflect the fresh products available in each market. We source local food whenever possible. We enthusiastically support school gardens, and we love to serve locally grown food in our kitchens.

We serve organic products whenever feasible. Our milk is hormone-free, and our eggs are cage-free and Certified Humane®. We serve only dolphin-safe tuna, packed in water. We support the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® guidelines and strive to increase our purchases of sustainable seafood. We serve shade-grown coffee that’s fair-trade certified.

We’re very proud of our sustainable purchasing practices, and we continue to evolve our methods to ensure the highest-quality, sustainable products for our clients and community members.

WHY DOES SAGE SPOTLIGHT PROGRAM® USE VARYING SHADES OF GREEN?

At SAGE, our nutrition philosophy is that All Foods Fit! What better way to acknowledge that than to designate all foods green, the universal color for “go!” SAGE Spotlight Program® is based on nutrient density. The three varying shades of green (or color density, if you will) represents higher, moderate, and lower nutrient densities.

Is coconut a tree nut?

Before 2006, the USDA didn’t consider coconut a tree nut. There continues to be limited research to support the classification of coconut as a tree nut. Further, there are few individuals diagnosed with coconut allergies.

Consequently, SAGE doesn’t treat coconuts as tree nuts. SAGE Managers are free to use coconut in the preparation of menu items. However, we counsel our Managers to inform tree nut-allergic students and their parents of this policy, so students can make informed decisions about what to eat.

Some schools are banning chocolate milk. What do you think about it?

SAGE works with school communities to deliver customized programs to fit the needs of everyone involved. There are many factors that influence food offerings. Parents, students, school administrators, and SAGE are all part of the conversation. There’s no right or wrong answer; rather, it's about finding the answer that works best for that community. Sometimes a decision is made to not serve certain foods at all, while in other communities the decision is made to limit consumption, such as only offering the choice to older students.

Our SAGE Spotlight Program® supports varied food offerings and educated choices, as students will make decisions regarding food for the rest of their life. SAGE provides educational materials to reinforce the message of balanced food choices.

What are your nutrition standards?

Our nutrition policy aims to promote a balanced lifestyle for all of our clients. Here’s what we do:

● We cook from scratch, reducing use of processed foods.
● We use fresh vegetables and fruits.
● We offer fresh salads and house-made dressings.
● We offer a variety of whole-grain breads, bagels, and rolls.
● We roast deli meats in-house.
● We serve hormone-free milk.
● We serve antibiotic- and hormone-free milk.
● We use cage-free, Certified Humane® eggs.
● We use local and campus-grown ingredients.
● We offer substantial vegetarian and vegan options.

What's the difference between a registered dietitian (RD) and a nutritionist?

The RD credential is a legally protected title that can only be used by practitioners who are authorized by the Commission on Dietetic Registration of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND).

Individuals with the RD credential have fulfilled specific requirements, including having earned at least a bachelor's degree, completed a supervised practice program, and passed a registration examination. They must also maintain continuing education requirements for recertification.

Some RDs may call themselves nutritionists, but not all nutritionists are registered dietitians, according to AND. The definition and requirements for the term nutritionist vary. Some states have licensure laws that define the range of practice for someone using the nutritionist designation, but in other states, virtually anyone can call themself a nutritionist, regardless of education or training, AND says.

What's the difference between an allergy and an intolerance?

Many people think the terms food allergy and food intolerance mean the same thing. They don’t.

A food allergy occurs when the immune system reacts to a certain food. The most common form of an immune system reaction occurs when the body creates immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies against the food. When these IgE antibodies react with the food, histamine and other chemicals (called mediators) are released, causing hives, asthma, or other symptoms of an allergic reaction.

Food intolerance, unlike a food allergy, doesn’t involve the immune system and isn’t life-threatening. Lactose intolerance, trouble digesting the milk sugar lactose, is a common example. Symptoms may include abdominal cramps, bloating, and diarrhea.

Why doesn't SAGE post calories in schools?

Posting calories abets and exacerbates eating disorders among young people, and we see that as violating our mission. At one time, we did post this information. To our dismay, the heads of some of the all-girls schools we serve asked us to stop, explaining that posting calories, in their words, allowed students with eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia to “keep score” on how they were doing. Abiding by their wishes, we dropped this labeling. In 2005, we rolled out our SAGE Spotlight Program®. This program is designed to solve the calorie problem and correct the very real issue of portion size and recipe variation.

Lesley Vogel

Lesley Vogel is SAGE’s Vice President of Food and Nutrition.

A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Lesley leads a team of Registered Dietitians whose expertise and continual research ensure SAGE delivers the best, most current nutrition programs to the communities we serve. They lead our allergen management training, SAGE Spotlight Program®, and Performance Spotlight®. They review every ingredient and recipe, tag them for the top 12 food allergens, and ensure variety on every menu. Lesley’s leadership has positioned SAGE to have one of the industry’s strongest nutrition programs.

Lesley received her bachelor's degree in food and nutrition from Florida State University and completed her dietetic internship at Yale New Haven Hospital. Before joining SAGE in 2014, she spent 20 years in clinical practice, first providing care at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and later educating corporate clients, families, and students through a community-based practice. As the parent of a child with a nut allergy, Lesley has firsthand experience managing the complexities of food allergies. She enjoys sharing this expertise and her passion for nutrition with SAGE communities.

Lesley's hobbies include hiking, skiing, kayaking, and spending time with family and friends.

Taylor Chan

Taylor Chan joins SAGE as a recent graduate of Bradley University with a master’s degree in nutrition and wellness.

Taylor received her bachelor’s degree in dietetics from the University of Maryland, where she was president of the Food Recovery Network. In this role, she managed a program that resulted in over 60,000 pounds of food being donated to local charities. While at Bradley, Taylor interned for Caterpillar, Inc., Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Illinois Cancer Care’s outpatient healthcare team, and the university’s dining program.

In addition to being a Registered Dietitian, Taylor is also a Certified Personal Trainer, and enjoys traveling, hiking, and snowboarding.

Teresa Miller

Teresa Miller joins SAGE as a Registered Dietitian with a master’s degree in medical dietetics from Saint Louis University.

Teresa received her bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics with a focus on food innovation and entrepreneurship from Saint Louis University. She completed a dietetic internship through the University of Northern Colorado with a concentration on nutrition education and counseling. Her experience includes managing a farm-to-table school nutrition program, developing recipes and menus, and providing nutrition and health coaching.

In addition to her passion for nutrition, Teresa enjoys traveling, gardening, practicing aerial silks, and trying new recipes and restaurants.

Amy Ryan

Amy Ryan joins SAGE as a Registered Dietitian with a master’s degree in food science and human nutrition with a concentration in public policy and advocacy from the University of Maine.

Amy received her bachelor’s degree in culinary nutrition from Johnson & Wales University, where she concentrated on dietetics. She has experience in analyzing and communicating nutrition regulations, leading nutrition education classes, providing nutrition consultations, and counseling high-risk individuals.

When she’s not sharing her education and passion for food and nutrition, Amy enjoys acrylic and watercolor painting, going on long walks, and spending time with her rescue American bully, Gingerbread (aka Gingie).

Amanda Zimmerman

Amanda Zimmerman joins SAGE as a Registered Dietitian with a bachelor of science degree in dietetics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and having completed a dietetic internship with the University of Delaware.

Before coming to SAGE, Amanda was a dietitian and culinary systems analyst at a large, food service management company. She managed communications and documents with contracted manufacturers to ensure needs were met regarding allergen and ingredient transparency, as well as maintained compliance of regulatory standards and guidance. She also served as a university dining dietitian, where she created and implemented health and wellness programming, supported menu development, and managed food allergies and sustainability programming. One of her biggest accomplishments was creating a Veggie Passport Week program, bringing awareness to vegetarianism and sustainability efforts. Amanda and the program were featured in Food Management magazine, and the program is still being used throughout the company.

She’s an active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and serves as external relations chair for the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition dietetic practice group within the academy, where she identifies potential sponsors, maintains relationships with current sponsors, and facilitates member education, discussion, and action.

In her spare time, Amanda enjoys spending time with her family, being outdoors, trying new recipes and restaurants, and walking her dog, Nola.