Munchie Madness

Written by Bakersfield Magazine

When 3:00 p.m. rolls around, you’re looking for that little pick-me-up. What’s it going to be? A Milky Way bar? Maybe a little bag of Doritos? Or perhaps, and this is a big perhaps, you’re thinking that a juicy apple or a handful of almonds sound better. It sure does sound healthier, but for most of us, chocolate wins out every time.

Don’t feel bad. You’re like the hundreds of thousands of people who’ve stood in front of that vending machine before you. All those options...all that junk. But we make our purchase, and we have to live with it. So we walk back to our cubicle with our head down in silence, shamefully loving every bite of that caloric masterpiece known as a Milky Way. That’s when we start proclaiming to coworkers that we’re tired of all the fattening things “shoved in our faces.” You tell everyone you wish there was a vending machine filled only with fruit—because you’d pick a banana every time. You vow never to eat another candy bar in your life.

The next afternoon, you’re pondering the relative healthfulness of a 3 Musketeers bar.

This is a regular occurrence at any office in the country, and Bakersfield is no different.

But what we don’t realize is that there are people trying to give us healthier options; trying to make sure we’re surrounded with all the best foods possible—so that when we are sick of greasy chips and processed sugar bars, a veggie plate is near.

And they’re just the people you’d think they’d be: nutritionists and dietitians working for our hospitals, our Public Health Department, and our school system. While these institutions certainly aren’t in charge of how we take care of our bodies, they’re here to make decisions for the health of our community.

“We’re finding that balance between what people are proving they want and what the healthiest option is,” explained Jarrod McNaughton, associate vice president for San Joaquin Community Hospital (SJCH).

As part of the Adventist Health hospital system, SJCH has always provided vegetarian options, stemming from the practices of John Harvey Kellogg (yes, that Kellogg) in the late 1800s.

“In fact, we recently signed with Elaine’s Café to provide vegan options for patients, visitors, and staff,” McNaughton said. “Back then, Kellogg was looking to change people’s eating habits and part of our health system dates back to that idea. We look to provide those options for people today.”

“The idea really is to provide an alternative to those unhealthy items,” Kathleen Mershon continued. Mershon is a registered dietitian (R.D.), the clinical nutrition manager, and the assistant director of nutrition for SJCH.

“We do have vendors, but they have to work within the parameters of the Adventist Health system guidelines. We make sure that there are things like yogurt bars, fruit juice, vitamin water, and [healthy] sandwiches stocked. And for the patient menu, we try and find that balance between healthy options and familiar items that they’ll want.”

As Mershon explained, nutrition is the answer to the body healing, so the types of foods served in hospitals are crucial to wellbeing.

That’s why Mariafelix Gonzalez, R.D., who is in charge of Food and Nutritional Services for Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield, said every month, Mercy and Mercy Southwest display nutritional information posters in their cafeterias and in other parts of the hospitals as a way to educate the public on the importance of eating right.

“They cover different health topics and they serve as a visual. On one we had a picture of one hamburger and the nutritional content of it. Right next to the hamburger was a plate covered in healthy foods you could eat that wouldn’t even come close to reaching the high fat content of that one hamburger.” Those are the types of facts that get people thinking.

Gonzalez said the vendors that stock the machines at Mercy and Mercy Southwest are very receptive to managements suggestions.

“We told them we wanted healthier items stocked. Well, they began putting in baked chips and pita bread sandwiches, even salads. It’s just that the public needs to realize that these options are here already.”

As part of that philosophy, the cafeteria serves fish twice a week and watches the portions that go out. Additionally, as part of the ongoing battle to get people to eat healthier, Gonzalez said Mercy will create informational pamphlets that will be placed around the hospital with nutritional facts.

But perhaps the biggest undertaking has been the analysis of the hospitals’ menus.

“We’re scheduled to be finished by June, but this has been a long process. We have to analyze each and every item on the menu and create a nutritional index for it. That way, we know exactly what we’re serving, and patients, visitors, and staff know exactly what they’re eating.”

At Kern Medical Center, they’re all about healthy diet education.

“Last year, we had a five-week course on nutrition for the staff,” said Megan Eisenzimmer, R.D. “And we always post the nutritional facts for our regular menu items in the cafeteria for both our grill and our hot lunches.”

KMC offers Kashi cereals and a vegetarian option for every meal, full of whole fruits and veggies.

“And we make sure that our vendors stock seasonal fruits, yogurts, cottage cheese, and other things.”

However, the most important notch on KMC’s belt came from their decision, roughly a year ago, to ban all vending machines from the campus.

“It was just junk,” Eisenzimmer said. “We do try and stock items by how well they sell in our cafeteria, however. We’d like to ultimately put more healthy items there, so if people buy them, we’ll stock them.”

Over at Memorial, Laurie Wallace, R.D., C.D.E, said that oftentimes, she realizes people feel they have to bring their lunch if they’re looking to eat healthy. But those options are available. Wallace is the Clinical Nutritional Manager and explained that Memorial has taken many steps recently to be recognized as a healthy workplace.

“Our heart-healthy options are designated. They are items with low saturated fat, 500 calories or less, low sodium, and high fiber.”

Additionally, for the staff, Memorial has set up a walking trail extending around the campus.

“We feel that the staff can provide much better testimonials to the patients. They can educate them by example. We did remove the vending machines from the new tower and put them all in one area, near the cafeteria.” That way, people can see healthier options across the hall if they’re looking for that afternoon snack. And lectures for staff on healthier eating habits and nutrition ideas help Memorial improve awareness of these causes. It’s called the MIGHTY program. It stands for Making an Investment to Get Healthy Together Year-round.

But hospitals aren’t the only institutions that have seen changes. The Kern High School District has some fairly stringent rules on vending machine items as well as what is served in its cafeterias.

Sharon Briel, R.D., is the Food Service Director and is in charge of student nutrition.

“There are no machines on the school campuses themselves, though we do have beverage vending machines near recreational areas.” These include football fields where athletes can get hydration.

However, Briel explained, what goes in the vending machines is governed by California legislation.

“California took steps to be more restrictive on what is sold a la carte on high school campuses. But this is only in effect during the school day.”

That said, anything sold at student stores must be under a certain number of calories, and follow the 35-10-35 rule. Meaning the item has to have less than 35 percent calories from fat, less than 10 percent saturated fat, and must have an added sugar level less than 35 percent. They also stock more grain-based chips that are baked.

Elementary schools have already implemented these healthier items, which Briel believes will help children and families adjust as they move through the system.

“When they get to high school, it won’t be such a shock to not have these unhealthy items. And California has taken great steps to mandate the types of things available.”

Schools are in a position to help enforce healthy eating habits at home, but parents do need to take steps as well.

Another beacon of health in our community is the health department. People look to this facility to lead by example. Avtar Nijjer-Sidhu, Ph.D., R.D., is in charge of the Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program with the Kern County Department of Public Health.

The department has incorporated other healthy options, like walking buddies, and bringing in healthy snacks during meetings. Also, Nijjer-Sidhu implemented a weekly farmer’s market for staff to purchase fresh fruit on site for lunches and snacks.

“I like to talk to the vendors as well and see what new items we can bring in that will be healthy but flavorful alternatives to other high-fat snacks. Some of the vendors are contracted for all the county facilities and they stock things like nuts and trail mix. That will definitely help our staff. With these items, we want to create a healthy environment for workers and help them adopt a change in their lifestyle. We can build a healthier public health department so that together, we can build a better community.”

We need to rally behind these facilities looking to make healthy changes for our community. Public health institutions know what it takes to create a healthy environment but some of these changes can only come if we support them, not just by saying we want apples in the vending machines instead of Snickers bars, but by putting our money and our vote where our mouth is. Better options are available, we just need to prove we have what it takes to utilize them.

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Article appeared in our 26-2 Issue - June 2009