Testimonials
Dave Kabel, Food Service Director and Registered Dietitian for 16 districts in the Southern Tier of NY
"Our partnership with the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (the BEN Center) helps us feel that we have a fighting chance to make a difference in the lives of our students."
"We have participated in numerous interventions in our cafeterias and have watched students begin to make better choices."
"The BEN Center people have also helped us train our staff in best practices and market ourselves to parents and school officials. They have presented new and better ways to showcase ourselves to our customers. I am excited to be a part of the solution and as we continue to work with the BEN Center I anticipate great success."
Sheila Hoyt, Cook Manager for Horseheads Intermediate School and Middle School – Horseheads, NY
"The BEN Center lunchroom makeover ideas really got me thinking -- little changes really affect how kids look at things and how they enjoy their meals and interact with the staff. I decided to act. We did half a dozen changes form the BEN Center presentation, plus a few we came up with on our own, and the kids were really excited, saying ‘This is really cool’ and ‘Can you do this every day?’ They started taking more fruits and gave us ideas for new foods and healthy treats. They even invited me to sit with them. This rapport will carry on into the next grades as the kids get older. I am excited to do even more this coming school year – you guys really opened my eyes and got me going."
Denise Agati, Food Service Director, Ithaca City School District
"We worked with Brian Wansink and David Just at the BEN Center to study how to get children make healthier choices. That helped us learn how to introduce students to new healthy entrees that we developed working with local chefs and farmers. We received a lot of positive feedback and cut down on our use of processed foods."
