GEM NO. HI

Good Nutrition Is Good Business Linda Ryan Tn-County Health Department 7000 East Belleview, Suite 301 Englewood, Colorado 80111-1628

Lifestyle has a strong influence on our health. Eating is an important part of life­style and, as a result, increasing numbers of consumers are evaluating food products in terms of their quality and nutrition content. Knowing that our best defense against chronic disease is prevention, and having the ma­terials and staff to educate the public about behavior change, we at Tri-County Health Department have taken several aggressive marketing steps to expand our services to meet the need of our community.

One way we have helped our community is through a service called Computerized Nutrition Assessment. Our service analyzes recipes, diets, entrees, and menus for 58 nutrients and is geared toward both individ­uals and businesses who contact Tri-County Health Department by phone or mail. We charge $9.95 per recipe, $7.95 for 10 or more. A registered dietitian then consults with the individual to help modify the foods to meet the desired guidelines. Fot businesses, we use our marketing skills to help them pro­mote good nutrition within their establish­ments.

Establishing a program that would pro­vide accurate , low cost, current information for clients was our ultimate goal. We've no­ticed a need for our service throughout the state and continue to expand consumer awareness through local, state and profes­sional resources such as newspapers , yellow pages, organizational meetings, professional newsletters, etc. Word of mouth has proved to be the most effective means of advertising our unique service. We have been successful in networking with such organizations as the American Heart Association, well ness cen­ters, and the USDA by participating on com­mittees such as Dine To Your Heart's De­light program, media resources and weight control. We provide their customers and consumers with accurate, reliable nutrition information through our computer analyses and consultations. We also exchange infor­mation and ideas.

We hired a marketing student from a local university to assist us with the initial market research and advertising campaign. His business knowledge helped us to develop strategies, techniques, and marketing skills for use by the nonprofit sector. Surveys were also incorporated to help us clearly define our community's needs (Figure 1).

Computer software is the most valuable tool in our nutrient analysis program, and we have selected Nutritionist III because it contains a large data base and flexible up­grades. We suggest researching the numer­ous available programs to find the one most suited to your needs. We feel that having current data is important, so we continually update our database through upgrading our software, as well as by obtaining nutrient content from manufacturers and information centers throughout the U.S. This helps us to provide better service to our customers.

Computerized Nutrition Assessment has met a variety of needs within Colorado's nu­trition marketplace. Restaurants are using our service, and listing nutritive values on their menus. Bakeries are displaying nu­trient information on package labels and also in their display cases (Figure 2). Major in­stitutions (county jails and group homes) throughout the state have used our analysis to establish legal proof of competent care. Manufacturers of new products have used our service for their labeling needs and mar­keting strategies. Individuals are using Nu­trition Assessment as a contemporary tool to proVide nutrition information that will help them maintain a healthy life (Figure 3). Good nutrition is good sense and good business, and the demand for our service is growing.

We have prepared an information packet designed to help other organizations set up their own nutrition assessment program. It includes:

• Comparing computer analysis pro­grams

• Advertising techniques to obtain busi-ness

• Marketing skills • Locating updated information • Learning how to expand within your

community

For a copy of this packet please send $4.00 to: Linda DeBell-Ryan, Nutrition Division, Tri-County Health Department, 7000 East Belleview, Suite 301, Englewood, Colorado 80111.

Figure 1. Nutrition survey being taken at a large institution.

Figure 2. Observing a bakery that uses Nutrition Assessment on its package labels.

Figure 3. Individual diet assessment and counsel­ing session.

JOURNAL OF NUTRITION EDUCATION 21:I00A, 1989