EAT- SUPERFOODS.  We take feeding our campus very seriously.  We dish out quality foods with menus and meal plans customized for each customer’s nutritional needs.  We provide nutritious high-quality dishes made from fresh ingredients that energize on-the-go students, faculty, and staff!  At both Café Court and Towers Café, we have nutritional information and portion sizes listed for our menu items. We want you to make sensible choices about what you eat.      

LEARN- We fuel hungry minds for success in education.  Without healthy, balanced choices to keep them energized students can’t learn.  We are stepping up our nutrition education in the classroom and in our facilities, so healthy dietary decisions can be made for a lifetime. Look for our Wellness Board and Nutrition pamphlets/brochures provided in Café Court and Towers Café.  Both locations contain nutritional information updated monthly! 

 LIVE- Living a successful life includes giving to others.  We foster healthy communities by encouraging volunteerism among our associates by giving our time and resources to local & national efforts.  We will continue to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation for the research and fight against cancer.  We will have the “LIVESTRONG” wristbands available for $1 donation.  All proceeds collected will be sent directly to the Lance Armstrong Foundation on behalf of Southeast Missouri State University.     

Chartwells  Dining Services understands that our customers' satisfaction is the most important aspect of our business.  Therefore, we take dining services to another level, nurturing our customers' health, environment and community.  Nurture Our World is a program you will see throughout our dining halls and future promotions.  You will find that we have a vision to make a significant, positive contribution to the lives of our employees, customers and the communities we serve.

HEALTH

Nurture Our World helps you make sensible choices about what you eat.  The program features Balanced Choice foods, available in each of our dining locations, and keeps you informed with monthly nutrition tips to promote a healthy lifestyle.  30% of teens are either overweight or at risk.  60% of overweight teens have at least one risk factor for heart disease.  Nearly 1 in 5 African American and Hispanic children are overweight.  Many social factor contribute to the obesity epidemic:

• Changing food habits
• Declining physical activity in the home & in schools
• Increasing sedentary habits
• Changes in the physical environment

"Obesity is the result of a problem."

1. Portion Distortion
    Increased abundance = increased food intake
    4 out of 4 families eat out once a week
    Standard vs. "SUPERSIZE"
    
2. Soda Controversy
   Kids drink more soda than juice by age 5 than all other liquids by 14!
    
3. Food in today's lifestyle
   eating revolution...part of multi-tasking...we no longer "just eat"
   "Joy of Not Cooking"
   Food must be entertaining & recreational
   "Healthy" eating is perceived as equating to no taste, no fun, and no enjoyment. 
    
4. Busy does not necessarily equate to activity
   We should all get 30 minutes of activity each day.
   However fewer than 1 in 4 kids do.
   TV time is directly associated with obesity
   *60 minutes of activity is recommended each day!

ENVIRONMENT

Project Green Thumb also supports our promise to conduct our business as a responsible steward of the environment and, to the best of our abilities, not disrupt the natural order and health of the earth.  To help protect the environment through source reduction, we strive to conserve water, use environmentally friendly packaging, and reuse materials whenever possible.  Other key initiatives of the program include participation in community recycling programs, the purchase and monitoring of energy-efficient equipment, the capture and reprocessing of cooking oil, and proper handling of hazardous wastes.  We further pledge never to seek profit at the expense of our belief in the Project Green Thumb philosophy.

COMMUNITY

Healthy communities are essential for healthy businesses.  When a community supports its people, then those people are more apt to be better citizens, employees and business owners - thus completing the circle.  We count among our foremost responsibilities helping the communities from which we draw our customers, staff and resources. We make it a policy to invest time, talent, resources and money in the communities we serve.  Through fundraisers, donations and various charitable events we support the Southeast Missouri State University community, the Cape Girardeau community, and the people we serve.