The Culinary Health Program, directed by Dr. Peggy Policastro, RDN, explores the intersection of culinary literacy, nutritional adequacy and healthy lifestyles. The program runs in partnership with Rutgers Dining Services and the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative (MCURC). Joining forces with the largest collegiate foodservice operation in the country, serving 6.9 million meals a year, provides living learning laboratories to multiple departments across the campus and across the nation to conduct interdisciplinary field research in the area of behavioral economics. The Culinary Health Program also works with researchers to develop test diets for research protocolsThe Culinary Health program also houses the IFNH Student Ambassadors who support peer-to-peer nutritional education across the university and into the community.
Dr. Peggy Policastro-Invited Speaker for Menus of Change Leadership Summit
Dr. Peggy Policastro, RDN, IFNH Culinary Health Program Director was an invited speaker at the 2020 Menus of Change Leadership (Virtual) Summit where she spoke about her recently published study, Faith in Fat: A Multisite Examination of University Students’ Perceptions of Fat in the Diet.
IFNH Student Ambassadors Present Research
IFNH Student Ambassadors Tiffany Chen (SEBS '21), Gabby Harrison (SEBS '21), and Jessica Van Wie (SEBS '22) were invited to present research posters at the Menus of Change Leadership (Virtual ) Summit based on studies centering around Menus of Change Principles. All research used the dining halls as living laboratories.
