Dining Services

Being well and eating well means becoming aware of choices and making the right decisions to achieve a better today and a better tomorrow. Our Hill School dining team is committed to offering you a wide range of options for a healthy dining experience. From recipes that include the most nutritious mix of ingredients to offering educational resources for positive lifestyle habits, healthy options are the result of a team dedicated to advancing the well-being of the entire campus community.

We understand the importance of providing balanced and nutritious choices in the dining hall and at The Grille. "Mindful by Sodexo" is a program that makes choosing the healthy choice, the easy choice. Mindful foods balance nutrition with enticing flavors to create an indulgent way to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. Look for the logo which identifies the Mindful choices on campus. 

Mindful meals follow the USDA’s plate design and include a vegetable, protein, and wholesome carbohydrate such as whole grain. To find out more visit http://mindful.sodexo.com/.

Plan and track your meals with the Bite by Sodexo menu app, free at the APP store or Google Play. With the Bite by Sodexo app, you can view menus, get nutrition info for menu items, screen for allergies, calories, and vegetarian options, plus provide direct feedback to Dining Services.

Look for the Healthy @ The Hill Logo to give you some great healthy food selections depending on what you are looking for in your diet including: proteins, vitamins, and complex carbohydrates.

Also, be sure to look for our monthly fruits, vegetables, and grains on the monthly promotional calendar that is offered in the Dining Hall Pantry. We also encourage members of The Hill community to enjoy the fruit infused water, lavender lemonade, and many more fun flavors available at the Pantry’s Hydration Station.

We take pride in sourcing wholesome ingredients, preparing recipes accurately and providing nutritional analysis and ingredient statements through our online menus and Bite by Sodexo menu app. We are all passionate about serving students. From general manager to front line servers, we work diligently to address students’ specific needs, especially those with food allergies, Celiac disease, or special diet needs.

A team approach led by you, our educated consumer, is the best preparation for a safe school year free of allergic reactions. We want to meet one-on-one with all of our customers who have individual dining needs to ensure that your dining experience is safe, delicious, and social. If you have a food allergy/special diet concern, please contact our Chef Mark Hinkle at mhinkle@thehill.org or 610-705-1151. Members of The Hill community also may schedule a one-on-one consultation with Registered Dietitian Susan Hurd by emailing her at susan.hurd@sodexo.com.

Susan Hurd is a Registered Dietitian with more than 20 years of experience in commercial food service, health, and wellness arenas. She received her bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and completed her dietetic internship with the Wood Company, now known as Sodexo. Susan's vast experience in food and nutrition enable her to relate the science of nutrition to the general public in an easily understandable format. Susan works with students individually via the school health center and athletic department. She also hosts a variety of health and wellness focused events on campus throughout the year. You can reach Susan via email at Susan.Hurd@sodexo.com. To set up an individual appointment, please contact the Health Center.

It is with the Dietary Guidelines that we commit to the following best practices:

• Foods from all food groups will be offered in nutrient-dense forms
• Local foods will be offered as available
• Foods low in fat, saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol will be offered
• Foods low in sodium will be offered
• An increase in vegetables and fruits will be offered with an emphasis placed on variety
• Whole grains will replace the majority of refined grains fat-free and/or low-fat milk and dairy products will be offered
• A decrease in sugar/sugary foods will be used/served 
• Lower fat methods will be used in food preparation
• A variety of seafood will be offered weekly

We currently working with our partners in recycling and waste management to collect and compost all food waste. We also are developing a program to integrate some of this compost back into our community garden.

We successfully implemented trayless buffet dining. This step reduces our environmental impact by requiring the use of less water and detergents to clean trays. Another positive effect of a trayless Dining Hall is less food waste, as members of the community are more likely to take smaller portions, taking only what they can carry.

Chinaware is used in the Dining Room for everyday service to avoid additional waste going into landfills. However, when this is not possible (power outages, etc.), we provide full-compostable plates, bowls, and flatware to provide a more sustainable approach to our services. We also give our catering clients the option to choose from chinaware or compostable items for events. In our retail operations we provide some earth friendly disposables and are working to reduce waste there too by adding more products with our to go program. 

There are times when faculty and staff require a carry-out option for their food in order to make it to their next commitment or scheduled event. Rather than rely on Styrofoam or plastic for these times, Hill initiated the "Green-To-Go" program. The Dining Hall has been supplied with sturdy green reusable to-go containers. If you use one, please be sure to bring it back the next day, and it will be properly cleaned and readied for another Green-To-Go meal!

All of our contracted food purveyors are within 50 miles of The Hill School. We focus on purchasing fresh versus frozen sustainable and natural products from these vendors to reduce energy usage through running water. When a frozen product is purchased, it is thawed under refrigeration or as part of the cooking process to reduce energy costs. We purchased local foods through our vendors based on availability throughout the year. We believe in supporting local farmers and communities which bring a variety of fresh, vibrant foods to our delicious lineup of recipes in The Hill School Dining Hall. 

When food arrives from our vendors it often is packed in cardboard boxes, plastic, cans, glass jars, or other recyclable materials. Our staff is trained on sorting all trash from recycling before discarding it into our receptacles. We currently average two times the amount in volume of reusable materials to be processed as recyclables versus trash going into our receptacle to be put into landfills. We always strive to improve this each year. 

All of the fryer, cooking oils, and oils rendered from meats are collected and recycled by a local vendor. These oils are recycled into bio fuels, which are repurposed for a variety of uses including alternate-fuel-powered vehicles. 

Waste reduction in the Dining Hall is a hot topic. We continue to seek student interest and involvement in this issue and large improvements have been made on this front. We now track our waste after each meal in order to identify future adjustments in portions. We have taken the opportunity to educate our community about portions and encourage diners to finish what is on the table before getting additional bowls or plates of food. We are saving roughly 60 pounds of food a day over previous usage! Our production and ordering systems also allow us to accurately track food waste and leftovers to create a solid foundation for making sure overproduction does not occur. 
 

Our staff is trained throughout the year on how to support sustainabile initiatives at The Hill School. Our Sodexo team is committed to conserving energy by turning off kitchen equipment when not in use; reducing water usage; shutting off unnecessary lighting in vacant areas; and reporting safety or mechanical issues which may lead to the overuse of energy. 

Our chef leads a monthly sustainability meeting where topics are discussed with a select group of Sodexo staff members where initiatives to improve our involvement and care for the environment are discussed and implemented as a team. We also hold meetings with Hill School students, educating them on our responsibilities as their dining provider and encouraging them to help us reduce waste and conserve energy.