Healthy menus lead to healthy choices

David Simpson, owner, Dolci Dessert Bakery & Gelateria

By Antoine Darden and Saintia Dorestal
Bengal News reporters
 Restaurants on the West Side may be adding nutritional facts to their menus, according to the new Healthy Choices program in Erie County.
 The program, which is organized by the county Health Department and the Western New York chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association, will allow restaurant owners to add nutritional facts such as the calories, total fat, cholesterol and protein.
 Although this may sound like a great plan for those who are looking for healthy options, some restaurant owners fear the program may take business away.
 “I don’t think people would order food from us, once they know how much fat and calories are in it,” said Dana Hernandez, who sets up events at the Niagara Café.
 The initiative is similar to the law that was passed on Nov. 8, 1990 by President George H. W. Bush, which required manufacturers to provide consumers with the nutritional content of their product.
 The new local initiative will not only provide consumers with information about the foods they are eating but it is also an opportunity for restaurant owners to publicize their healthy menu options, said Cheryll Moore, coordinator for the Erie County Department of Health.
 The facts will be added using the free software called “Menu-Calc,” which will calculate the nutrition results using a method called database nutrition analysis.
 Robert Free, president of the local chapter of the restaurant association said the Healthy Choices program, does not endorse the items the restaurateur picks as the healthiest choices.
 Free said that if owners wanted to they could put prime rib on the healthy menu. It’s more a matter of giving people information on what they are eating.
 Dave Alessi, manager at La Nova Pizzeria on West Ferry Street, said if the company had to add the nutritional facts themselves it would be tedious and costly.

Dave Alessi, on the new menu initiative in Erie County:

 “I have 55 subs on my menu and 30 different pizzas, calzones and the other stuff,” Alessi said.
 With the initiative being voluntary and limited in budget, restaurant owners will have the option of choosing up to four items on their menu.

 David Simpson, owner and manager of Dolci Dessert Bakery & Gelateria on Elmwood Avenue, which not only serves pastries and cakes, but also soups and breads and vegan and health-food items, hopes to be among the first to make the additions to his menu.
 Moore and Free said they hope to see the project expand. It will target 200 local restaurants and provide the service free of charge for the first two months using a $25,000 state grant.
 “I think it’s a great educational opportunity for consumers,” Moore said. “It’s also a great opportunity for restaurants that otherwise wouldn’t have the ability to do this because of cost.”

Edited by Caitlin Behm and Tiffany Monde