WINNER: MORRISON MANAGEMENT SPECIALISTS

ENTRY: FLAVORS 450

THE BIG IDEA: How do you demonstrate to a population growing more ruinously obese that eating healthy can still taste great? That is especially a challenge in the healthcare segment where there is an implied institutional responsibility to model healthy behaviors.

That was the challenge taken up by Morrison in partnership with celebrity chef Cary Neff, author of the best-selling book Conscious Cuisine. Together, Neff and Morrison came up with Flavors 450, a series of more than 60 menu items, each delivering under 450 calories per meal and no more than 35 percent of the calories from fat.

Using great-tasting seasonal whole foods to show how healthful dining can be easy, delicious and affordable, Flavors 450 instructs and motivates customers even as it provides them with great meals at affordable prices (under $5). The menu is designed to be served both in hospital retail and senior living environments, and Neff's involvement, which includes personal appearances at venues where the concept is introduced, helps get attention for the message in a way that less “star power” might not.

Morrison piloted Flavors 450 at Franklin Square Hospital in Baltimore a year ago and has expanded it to three more facilities since. It plans to add 10 more sites before the end of the year.

PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS:

Jim DeVos
vice president of marketing & strategy

Lenny Scranton
vice president of culinary services

Chef Cary Neff
vice president of corporate culinary services

Lisa Roberson
director of corporate wellness

Larry Tansky
director of retail marketing

Kim Rathburn
director of market development

Nicholas Martinkovic
executive chef

Amy Carraher
clinical nutrition manager

Brian Salter
corporate executive chef

Heidi DeCosmo
executive assistant to Cary Neff