UNT cafeteria earns national wellness award for its organic, healthy menu

Mean Greens, a healthy dining alternative at UNT, was recognized by a food industry publication as a winner of its 2007 Best Concepts award.

Mean Greens cafeteriaMean Greens was cited by Food Management magazine in the category of "Best Wellness Initiative." Food Management is a trade publication that provides information about university and similar food service programs.

UNT is one of five U.S. colleges to be recognized by Food Management. Mean Greens was featured in the July issue of the magazine, and an award will be presented at its annual conference this fall in Las Vegas.

What an honor

"It was an honor, and a bit of a surprise, to be recognized by Food Management magazine for this award," says Regenia Phillips, director of Dining Services. "It shows the level of interest on what we’re doing when it comes to healthy dining not only here on the UNT campus, but also on a national scale."

Mean Greens opened in Fall 2006 in the renovated Maple Hall cafeteria, and offers only organic and healthy foods including:

  • grilled meats
  • sushi
  • organically grown produce
  • marinated tofu

Vegetarian and vegan options are also featured and diners' servings are portion controlled. All dessert items have 150 calories or less, and meals have less than 300 calories and fewer than 10 grams of fat. In February, Mean Greens and the other five UNT dining halls eliminated transfats in all foods prepared by the dining halls.

The editors of Food Management based their award decisions on a variety of factors including the impact of a program, the effectiveness in achieving targeted results, the impact it may have on others in the field, and the level of innovation it represents.

The Mean Greens idea

Phillips says the Mean Greens concept grew out of a conversation she had with two students who dropped by her office to share their concern about a dining need on campus.

"They said students need a location without temptation," Phillips says. "We also did some re-education because students have become accustomed to eating as much as they want in the dining halls. We helped them realize that eating smaller portions is a healthier approach."

This fall, Dining Services is planning a survey to find out if Mean Greens diners feel that eating at Mean Greens helped them lose weight and maintain a healthier lifestyle.

Mean Greens is now open for the fall semester. You don’t have to be a member of the UNT community to take advantage of its healthy menu. Lunch usually costs $4.95 plus tax for people without a UNT meal plan.