Date: March 28, 2017

To: Chuck Cantrell

Vice Chancellor for Communication University of Tennessee Chattanooga

From: Kelsey Pearlman

Subject: Recommendation Memo for Healthy Food Options at UTC

Attached is my report for my study, Healthy Food Option at the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga: A Recommendation Report. The tasks that I presented in my proposal on March
10, 2017 have been completed. These tasks included: researching healthy food options,
conducting surveys from students at the university, and examining the data to come up with a
plan.

While completing these objectives, I acquired both primary and secondary research. I studied
which food options were available and what other universities were doing to promote healthier
food options. I also conducted a survey with students that currently attend the University of
Tennessee at Chattanooga to get their input and opinions on the current food options on campus.
I then analyzed the data for my report.

My primary discovery was that many students do feel that there need to be healthier options here
on campus. Roughly, eighty three percent of students feel that there needs to be a change. While,
some students are still satisfied with the food options here, the majority are not. With this being
said, many students have a preference on which type of healthy food they would like on campus.
There is not one solution that will fit the needs of each individual, but there are a few solutions
that would benefit the student population as a whole. It is of great benefit that the university can
add more than one healthy food option, catering to the needs of different students.

I recommend one of two solutions: The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga build an

additional dining hall that serves only healthy food options or that the university put in a couple
new healthy meal options in either the University Center or attached to the library.

I have enjoyed the opportunity to conduct and participate in this research study and I look
forward to collaborating with you in the event that there would be any follow up activities. If you
have any questions or comments, please reach out to me, Kelsey Pearlman, at
jff482@mocs.utc.edu or at (262)555-555.
 Resolving the Healthy Food Options Issue at the
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: A
Recommendation Report

Prepared for: Chuck Cantrell

Associate Vice Chancellor of communication

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Prepared by: Kelsey Pearlman, Student

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

March 28, 2017

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

613 McCallie Ave
Chattanooga, TN 37403
Introduction

It has been over a year since the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has offered a survey to
gather students input on food options on campus. Each year there seem to be less and less
healthy options to choose from. Many students are worried that there are not enough healthy
options on campus; especially those who are trying to be healthier.

According to the article The Effects of a Nutrition Education Intervention on Vending Machine
Sales on a University Campus, many college campuses are striving to be healthier and
promoting healthy meal options. A study was conducted and the results showed that the
purchases of red and yellow stickered foods were reduced in most machines but the sales of
green stickered foods increased. Food security, considered as a basic human right, exists when
all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food
to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for a healthy and active lifestyle. Another
article, Student Food Insecurity: The Skeleton in the University Closet suggests that many
students have food insecurities. A poor-quality diet, or unhealthy foods is a result of this food
insecurity. It states that many students are not able to afford healthy food and are limited to
certain options. Unfortunately, healthy food is significantly more expensive than unhealthy food.
Along with helping students to have a more nutrient rich diet, it will also help them with their
studying and well-being. When someone eats healthier, they feel better and can accomplish much
more. Another article, Gender and Race are Significant Determinants of Students Food Choices
on a College Campus suggests that college students are used to having a home cooked meal that
was once provided by their parents. These meals have been replaced with fast food since it is
easily accessible and fits the on-the-go, fast paced lifestyle of many college students. Easily
accessible convenience items such as fast food and store-bought, premade meals are often
substituted for home-prepared meals by many college students. According to a study by Brunt
et al, 95% of all college student participants reported consuming at least 2 servings of fatty,
sugary, and salty snacks in the past 3 days. Many college students do not have a great diet
pattern, or exercise pattern. When most of the offered food on campus is quick and unhealthy, it
is hard to say no. Recommended Guidelines suggest that due to diet and exercise patterns not
being up to par, it is causing a weight increase in both males and females from freshman year in
college to senior year in college.

According to a health assessment conducted by the American College Healthy Association the
first step to a campus implementing healthy options is to identify determinants that may have
contributed to poor food choices among college students. Common determinants of food choices
among young adults include, taste, cost, nutrition, convenience, pleasure, and weight control.
However, this article suggests that gender is overlooked as one of the factors. Men want to eat
different things than women want to eat. In conclusion, there needs to be a wide variety of food
options and healthy options for everyone. The article indicates that there is a reasoning behind
food choices and it showed that overall, poor taste was the primary characteristic associated
with food dislikes (29.8%), followed by poor quality (26.3%), poor nutrition (19.6%), and high
cost (10.7%). Students of other races/ethnicities (9.1%) attributed food dislikes to inconvenience,
whereas white students (1.1%) did not consider inconvenience as a factor of food options.
A survey similar to the one that I would like to conduct, was given to students from a
Midwestern university. 22,000 students were survey about healthy menu items. Every four out of
ten students said that they could not find healthy menu items on campus. The executive chief of
dining services paired with students to complete this survey. This was not only a great way to
help students get involved with campus events, but also helped them to promote wellness on
campus and have increased confidence with dining services.

I believe that this would be a great thing for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to do.
Student will not only be able to have a say in what healthy options should be made available on
campus, but also it would be a great opportunity for them to get involved and have their voices
heard. It would also be a great way for the university to promote itself to potential students. The
university would be helping many students to continue or begin their healthy lifestyles. This in
turn could even help them to maintain their grades. When someone follows a healthy lifestyle,
they tend to have more energy and remain focused. This is what really makes it important for
students to be able to have healthy options. Not only to keep their bodies healthy, but their minds
as well.

Research Methods
I began my research by seeking out which healthy food options were available for franchising. I
also researched which restaurants other college campuses had. While conducting research on
healthy food options, I have kept in mind the lifestyles of the students here. This has helped to
narrow down the restaurants to a few choices based on student preferences and lifestyles.

I broke the research up into four tasks:

1. Research healthy food options
2. Conduct surveys
3. Examine data
4. Generate a plan

In the following, I discuss how I performed each task and my motivation behind the task:

Task 1. Research healthy food options

In order to address the issue of there not being a variety or enough healthy food on campus, I
need to find out the best options for meal choices. This will give me a better understanding of
what is available and what the best option is. I can then formulate a survey for students or figure
out the best way to receive their input. I will also research what other universities are doing and
find out what their meal options on campus are. I think it is very important to see what
competitors are doing.

Task 2. Conduct surveys

After finding out which restaurants are the best option to put on campus and what other
universities offer, I will need to send a survey out to students. Surveys have been sent to students
in the past by administrators. I think that this survey should be sent by fellow students who are
involved with making changes around campus. The difference between this survey and past ones
will be that action will be taken this time. Their opinion is important, unlike other times when
nothing changed. Also, a survey will need to be conducted one day of students who are eating in
the university center. This will be a great way to reach out to the student population since our
target market will already be in the university center eating. They will be able to easily give their
opinion to a couple options and how they feel about the current food situation on campus. This
will give me a better understanding of how the student population feels.

Task 3. Examine data

After collecting the data from surveys and students opinions, I will be able to see how the
majority of the student population feels about food on campus. Hopefully I will have some great
input about what type of healthy restaurant students would like to see on campus and their
general attitude towards food on campus and if they believe it is healthy or not. I will be able to
look back at my initial research to compare how I thought results would turn out and how they
actually turned out.

Task 4. Generate a plan

After finding out how the student population feels and receiving feedback on which healthy
restaurant to put in, I will implement a plan. I believe that there needs to be another dining hall
with more options. I will start making the plans for that dining hall to include the restaurants that
the student population has chosen. Also, I believe that the library could use a corner shop. This
could serve as a quick healthy snack while students are studying. Research shows that eating
healthy food helps the brain and for students to stay focused. After completing these plans, I will
hand them to the administrator in charge of all the dining at the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga.

Results

In this section of the report, I present the outcomes of my research. For each of these tasks, I
present the most important data that I discovered.

Research Healthy Food Options

After researching healthy food options on the internet, I have found that there are more available
than I had initially thought. Many other colleges have begun to add healthier options to their
campuses to accommodate students lifestyles and needs. With the rigorous lifestyles many
college students have, it makes it hard to grab a meal quickly that is healthy. In my research, I
even found that many restaurants are trying out healthier recipes or altering their menus to be
somewhat healthier. There are a lot healthier restaurant choices today than there have been in the
past. Many other universities are taking advantage of adding these new healthy restaurants to
their campuses.
Conduct Surveys

I decided that surveys would be the best way to reach the student population. I conducted
surveys both in the university center and via UTC email. Students already receive many emails
about completing surveys for various things around campus. This survey allowed them to give
their opinion and choose from a list of options which restaurant that they would like to see on
campus. Included in the survey was a question about if the student feels that there are enough
healthy meal options on campus or not.

Examine Data

After receiving many surveys, I was able to examine the data. Only about seventeen percent of
students stated that they felt there were enough healthy meal options on campus.
As I expected, many students felt that there needed to be a change made. Students also felt like
they were actively involved after giving their input in how they felt about food options. Students
also provided answers to which healthy restaurants they would like to see on campus next
semester. In the past, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has asked for students input on
meal choices but would never consider it or put a plan in place to provide what students were
asking for. Around eighty three percent of students feel that the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga needs to have healthier meal options.

Limitations of the study

Due to the short amount of time the study allowed, I feel that I did not receive surveys from as
many students as I would have liked to. The entire student populations opinions are not exposed
in the results. Although a diverse group was surveyed, most of the student population was not.

Conclusions
Based on my research, I have concluded that most students feel that a change needs to happen in
relation to healthy meal options at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Currently, there
are not enough options for students. Eighty three percent of the student population feels that
there are not sufficient healthy meal options on campus.

Recommendations

I recommend that the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga try one of two things:

1. Build an additional, healthy dining hall

With only seventeen percent of the student population saying that there are enough
healthy meal options, it is clear that something needs to be done. Tuition rises each year,
making it easy for the university to build another dining hall on campus. This dining hall
would specifically be for healthy food options. It would make it easy for students who are
looking for a more nutrient enriched diet to find a place to eat.
 While researching which restaurants to add on campus, I found a variety of options.
Many other universities are already adding many of these healthy restaurants to their
campuses. I have spoken with a few students from other universities who say that they
have really enjoyed having healthier meal options available on campus. The University of
Tennessee at Chattanooga has the space to provide an additional dining hall for students
to enjoy healthier meals.

2. Add healthy restaurants to the University Center or attached to the library

If the university does not feel that a dining hall would be the best option to provide
healthy food to students, they can add healthier restaurants to the university center or
even add a healthy dining area to the library. A healthy dining area at the library could be
attached to the outside of the library or it could be inside. This would make it easy for
students to eat something healthy while studying without even having to leave the library.

It would even be beneficial if the university took out a couple of the restaurants in the
university center that are never occupied. There are a couple of restaurants that are never
busy that students are not very fond of. I think that putting healthier restaurants in place
of some of the others would be of great benefit. This would be a way to repurpose some
of the space without having to create new buildings for dining.
Works Cited/References

Brown, Mary V., Matthew Flint, and James Fuqua. "The Effects of a Nutrition Education Intervention on Vending
Machine Sales on a University Campus." Journal of American College Health62.7 (2014): 512-516. Print.

HUGHES, Roger, et al. "Student Food Insecurity: The Skeleton in the University Closet." Nutrition &
Dietetics 68.1 (2011): 27-32. Print.

Boek, Stacey, et al. "Gender and Race Are Significant Determinants of Students' Food Choices on a College
Campus." Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 44.4 (2012): 372-378. Print.

Choi, K.P., et al. "Dietetics Students and Dining Services Executive Chef Transformed Menus and Promoted
Nutritious Foods on Campus." Journal of the American Dietetic Association: Supplement110.9 (2010): A71-A71.
Print.