Ochsner Health System is announcing today an expansion of its Eat Fit BR program, which encourages local restaurants to offer nutritious, healthful meals for those who want to watch their weight and manage health issues.
Already, several Baton Rouge restaurants are participating in the program, founded in New Orleans in 2013 and slowly trickling into this market. The expansion, made possible by a three-year, $400,000 grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Louisiana, will help grow the program to as many as 200 restaurants in the Capital Region by 2021.
The grant will also enable Ochsner to expand its Eat Fit program into the Acadiana region, southwest Louisiana and, eventually northern and central parts of the state.
“This is one of our collective impact grants, which are efforts to tackle problems in a comprehensive way,” says Michael Tipton, president of the BCBSLAF. “This struck us as a smart way to encourage healthy eating statewide.”
The Eat Fit program serves as a way to help promote healthier eating habits in a state known for its high obesity and diabetes rates while also helping to brand the rapidly growing Ochsner Health Systems.
Ochsner offers nutritional analyses of menu items to participating restaurants free of charge. Dishes that meet the nutritional guidelines are then marked on the restaurant’s menu with a distinct Eat Fit logo. At the bottom, menus will explain that “Eat Fit BR menu items are designated by Ochsner Health Systems and BCBS of Louisiana Foundation.”
Molly Kimball, a registered dietician and Eat Fit founder, says New Orleans restaurants that have been participating in the program for several years have found it is good branding for them, too, as it drives business from health conscious diners their way.
“Initially, getting a restaurant on board is the hardest part,” Kimball says. “Once they get involved in it they love it and then it’s easier to encourage other restaurants to participate.”
Ochsner also is expanding its app, which enables diners to easily geolocate restaurants that are participating in the program.
“We’re just excited that regardless of where someone is in Louisiana they’ll be able to go out to eat and have options,” Tipton says.
