Dining ranks No. 2 for healthy cuisine

Dining Services rankedDining Services rankedjust behind Duke for itsDining Services rankedjust behind Duke for itsnutritional content. Penn's Dining Services ranked second behind Duke University in a nationwide survey released this week on healthy food offered in campus dining halls. The survey, conducted by a Washington-based physicians group, lauded Penn dining services for its inclusion of a daily egg- and dairy-free dinner entree. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine also commended Penn's rotating salad bar with fat-free dressing and the make-your-own stir-fry wok station. "We are happy to be ranked number two," Marketing and Meal Contract Coordinator Adam Sherr said. "It shows we are headed on the right track." The committee surveyed dining services at 38 campuses across the country, looking at menus, recipes and nutritional information, according to the group's media coordinator Kathy Savory. The schools surveyed included the universities ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News and World Report, plus a few schools to equalize geographical distribution, Savory said. "We wanted to let high school students looking at these schools know where the real healthy meals can be found," she said, adding that dining services can be an important factor in deciding where to matriculate. Each of the top five dining services had at least one low-fat or vegetarian dish offered each night, Savory said. Engineering and Wharton freshman Dean Pernisie said he thinks Penn Dining Services has a diversity of offerings that sets it apart from other schools. "I see a real attempt at providing a variety of food -- from the salad bar to hot entrees to the wok station," Pernisie said. "Rather than having a single specific meal, they accommodate for individual preferences." According to Sherr, Duke's high rating is due to a vocal vegetarian population among its student body. "Duke is known to have the most intricate vegetarian fare that we know," Sherr said. All decisions made by Dining Services are based on semi-annual student surveys, Sherr said. The vegetarian bar, along with wok and pasta stations all stemmed from student requests, he added. "The name of the game is to give students what they want," Sherr said. Savory added that the general trend in campus dining over the past few years has been toward healthier fare. "Students are requesting healthier options," she said. "The days of mystery meat are coming to an end." She stressed the need for healthy eating among college students. "For many students, college is the first time they are making their own eating choices," she said.

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