You Are What You Eat

There are 770 calories in a Burger King Whopper, 550 calories in a McDonald’s Big Mac and 410 calories in a Subway Italian B.M.T. If that was ever a secret, it won’t be for long.

As part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, chain restaurants with more than 20 locations nationwide will be required to post nutritional information on their menus. While part of Door County’s hallmark allure is the lack of chain establishments, one local organization recognized that consumers might come to expect nutrition information and is working with local restaurants to coordinate a menu-labeling program.

On May 1, Healthy Door County 2020, a collaborative organization with representatives from eight area for-profit, nonprofit and governmental departments, will launch a pilot program where menu items less than 650 calories will be labeled.

“We recognize there will be consumers coming to Door County from areas where menu labeling is a common practice, and they might be looking for that information, especially if we think about the health-conscious, silent sports enthusiasts frequenting Door County more and more often,” said Amy Kohnle, Executive Director of the United Way of Door County and member of the Healthy Door County 2020 collaborative.

But the program isn’t just for tourists.

“We know that busy, year-round families in Door County tend to eat out a lot, so we wanted to help bring awareness to the choices they were making while eating out,” said Kohnle.

This series of articles in the Pulse leading up to the launch of the pilot program will also help spread awareness about healthy eating. During the next three months Healthy Door County 2020 will provide articles every other week from nutritionists on the increasing trend to eat out, portion distortion, tools to track nutrition information, and ways to reduce chronic diseases.

Restaurateurs interested in participating in the pilot program can contact Allison Vroman at [email protected] or call 920.868.3660.

This series of articles is brought to you by Healthy Door County 2020, a collaborative community organization with representatives from for-profit, nonprofit and government sectors, aiming to make Door County Wisconsin’s healthiest place to live, work, raise a family and retire. For more information visit their Facebook page at Facebook.com/HealthyDoorCounty2020 or call Allison Vroman at 920.868.3660.