Three characteristics of great meals: They're healthy; they're delicious. And they are cost-conscious. At Perry Wellness Center, our culinary staff has the recipe for success, pun intended:
Healthy food. With our focus on wellness, we can't afford to serve anything but the most nutritious meals. Our plentiful vegetable gardens and greenhouses provide us with the ability to offer a "farm to table" approach to serving fresh, healthy food. We've also slightly reduced portion sizes, to support our peer members and staff in weight loss or maintenance programs.
Tasty food. Anyone who has ever had a meal served by our culinary manager, Kelly Jansen, knows that our food is delicious. Part of this we attribute to the fresh ingredients, using local produce. Part of it is just the culinary artistry of a great team. A few months ago, our culinary team won first place in the local Collard and Cornbread Cook-off. We anticipate that this is just one of many cooking awards to come.
Economical food. As our population has grown at Perry Wellness Center, so have the number of meals served daily. We're trying to be more cost-conscious, without sacrificing any quality. In addition to reductions in portion sizes, we've also cut back on our use of disposable paper and Styrofoam products in the kitchen. This change provides the fringe benefit of being better for the environment.
Kelly Jansen sums it up: "We strive to provide the safest service of good food at Perry Wellness Center."
In the photo above, Kelly, right, works with Kenneth Christmas to prepare garden-fresh vegetables for a meal.