Community Partner Profile: SAGE Dining Services

For those with food sensitivities, SAGE ensures that meals cooked with the top ten allergens in the US and Canada are separated during preparation and serving, labeled accordingly, and served only in the free-style station. 

 

“Everything in the free-style station is prepared in a designated space in the kitchen by our specialty chef, Vivian,” Food Services Director Helen Jones said. “She has separate dishes, utensils, aprons, and scales. She washes her dishes and utensils separately, so there’s no chance of cross-contamination after cooking. We isolate everything she does to make sure we are doing all we can to keep food allergen-free.”

 

Multiple food options are available to Lower, Middle, and Upper School students, including a hot lunch, sandwich, or soup bundles. Lower School students in Kindergarten and First Grade enjoy lunch in their classrooms, and faculty and Upper School students can grab an item on the go from The Pantry, located in Upper School South. 

 

The SAGE team aims to maintain a tidy, safe environment that promotes hygienic habits. Each staff member washes their hands often and changes aprons and gloves frequently when they step outside the kitchen or handle different food projects. These practices help mitigate cross-contamination and germs, and keep The Commons spaces clean and free of harmful bacteria. 

 

“The SAGE staff is required to participate in a training course called Take Five, which provides five-minute lessons about a variety of topics such as hazards, rules of the kitchen, allergen awareness, and reducing the spread of viruses and diseases,” Helen shared.

 

SAGE frequently teams up with eco-friendly vendors and farmers from across Seattle and goes the extra mile to reduce food waste through U+SAGE™, a food waste-reduction program that sorts, weighs, and records kitchen and dining hall waste. Helen emphasized the importance of tracking and recording food waste and providing data-driven solutions to maximize produce use. On average, 40 percent of SAGE’s ingredients are manufactured, produced, or grown within 150 miles of Bush, reinforcing strong community partnerships to develop innovative solutions that benefit both people and the planet.

 

“We document what we cook every day and pay attention to what food didn’t sell so that we can adjust our menu,” Helen said. “By the second month of school, we can gauge students’ eating habits and see how many bring lunch from home. I have a good idea of which menu items will sell more with the kids that day versus what faculty and staff would typically eat.”

“If I’m putting cheeseburgers over here and we have a nice pork loin with veggies in another station, I know that the faculty and staff are more likely to grab that, while the kids will destroy the cheeseburgers,” Helen adds.

Helen uses historical data on community eating habits to make informed decisions about how much food to sell. The Commons records, weighs, and repurposes food scraps. For example, onion skins and carrot tips are used as soup bases, instead of being tossed away, and discarded melon and fruit rinds are sent to Seattle Worms, a local gardening center that provides composting supplies and red wrigglers in bulk.

This past January marked the beginning of construction for the Center Campus, Commons, and Middle School Project, which temporarily shifted food service operations from the Middle School Courtyard to the MLK Community Center. Next fall, the new Commons dining hall will be twice as large, allowing students across all divisions to enjoy meals together. “This new space will be a great opportunity to really show off SAGE in a way that we haven’t been able to do. It’ll improve the guest experience in every way,” Helen said.

The additional space will also make more dining options possible, including a gluten- and allergen-free station, a wok and pizza station, and a more expansive sandwich and salad bar to appeal to the diverse palates and needs of community members. 

 

“I want the Bush community to know that SAGE is here to help and we’re not too busy to answer questions or fulfill menu requests,” Helen said. “We’re here to help foster community.”

Stay connected with SAGE through their app, A Touch of Sage, to explore the menu items, filter allergens and eating patterns, rate items, give feedback, or contact Helen with any questions.