Local Restaurants Become WooFood Certified

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Saturday, March 03, 2012

Jennifer Roy, GoLocalWorcester Lifestyle Contributor

 Three local restaurants have become “WooFood” Certified. Nancy Chang, Flying Rhino, and Woo Berry Frozen Yogurt have all signed on, and more are on their way!

WooFood is a certification program created by UMass Medical School students Matthew DeWolf, Adam Chin and Mitch Li. They formed the program, in collaboration with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Pioneering Healthier Communities in 2011. Their goal is simple: to get restaurants to offer healthier menu items and to make sure they’re clearly stated on menus and by servers.

DeWolf says, “We feel everyone can benefit from this. If restaurants owners and chefs know that the community wants to see their restaurant certified, then it will be great encouragement for the restaurants to do so”.

WooFood also makes sure the healthier items are tasty; they certify specific dishes which promise not only health but the “YUM” factor as well.

Ted Domville, owner of Woo Berry Frozen Yogurt , became WooFood certified, because he wants to reinforce to his customers that he is focused and committed to providing a product people should feel good about enjoying.

He says, “Making sure certified places have enough smart options that are easily accessible is really the strength of WooFood, and we’re proud to be part of that.”

City officials are also supporting the cause, in the hopes of reversing the obesity epidemic.

According to Derek Brindisi, Director, Worcester Division of Public Health, “Studies show that Americans consume 1/3 of their caloric intake by eating out. Working collectively with PHC and the WooFood team we are able to collaborate with Worcester area restaurants in order to encourage healthy menu options and smaller portion sizes”.

For a complete list of WooFood certified restaurants visit their website.
 

To read more about these restaurants check out the stories below from our partner WorcesterScene.com:

http://worc.ws/109)" target="_blank">Nancy Chang 
http://WorcesterScene.com/flying_rhino-32.html (http://worc.ws/32)" target="_blank">Flying Rhino
http://worc.ws/474)" target="_blank">WooBerry

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