Cafe Yumm is a local healthy dining institution around Eugene, one reason PeaceHealth thought it would make a great fit on its new Riverbend campus location.

Café Yumm is a definite “healthier alternative.” The eatery's menu of bento boxes, rice bowls, soups and salads made with organic ingredients is, literally, just what the doctor is likely to order, both for him/herself and for patients. It is also environmentally friendly, with biodegradable disposables, and all trash generated by the facility is sorted and recycled.

The space occupied by the Riverbend Café Yumm does have its challenges because it was not necessarily designed to accommodate a foodservice outlet. It has no hood vent, for starters, but the location has adapted. “We didn't modify our menu at all,” says Hegge. “Instead, we modified the equipment we use to prep and cook the food.”

The space is leased with Café Yumm paying the hospital rent. It competes with the main cafeteria and a coffee shop run by Riverbend's internal nutrition services department. Café Yumm currently averages about 5,000 transactions a month. Offsite alternatives are limited as there are no restaurants nearby within easy walking distance of the hospital and staffers — most of them hourly employees — usually get only a half hour for meal breaks.

Because of the needs of the staff across the day, Café Yumm operates from 10 am to 10 pm daily. It currently generates about 200 transactions a day, but hopes to boost that in early July when it installs POS readers that will allow it to participate in PeaceHealth's electronic payroll deduction option.

“The ID badges double as payment cards,” explains Miller. “Many of our staff don't carry purses or wallets around because they're coming from surgery or are in scrubs, so using the card is a great convenience because everyone always has that with them.”