Aug 29, 2018
“We have to think beyond what’s on the menu, because people are starting to care more about, not just how things taste, but they want to know that the food is good for them, and it’s also good for the world. ”
In this week’s episode, Lori had the honor of chatting with Missy Shaaphok, RD. Missy is the Manager of Global Nutrition and Sustainability for Taco Bell. Her mission is to continue finding new ways to integrate healthy food into the fast food market. Over the past several years, her team has been responsible for many of the monumental steps towards greater nutrition offered on the Taco Bell Menu. From removal of artificial ingredients, to the addition of cage-free eggs, Missy’s team has been working to provide fresh and healthy options for Taco Bell customers. Some have claimed that Taco Bell is the healthiest fast food restaurant!
“Nutrition is so much more than people typically think. It’s a combination of science and emotion… How the food is grown… emotionally everyone has a personal and cultural connection with food… It’s the connection with food and culture that brings out the joy in eating and consuming the food that nourishes our body. ”
There are over 46 million customers served at Taco Bell each week, which makes Missy’s job no small feat. She and her team are continually working on new ideas that will reach a very large customer demographic. Missy shares about her team’s food innovation and ways that they have worked to make the Taco Bell menu work for anyone’s dietary preferences. She shares that anything on the menu can be customized and gives some examples of modifications that can help you stick to your healthy eating plan.
“We want to make eating well the easy and convenient choice for you.”
Missy has a passion to provide nutritious food options, and increase the amount of produce consumed by Taco Bell customers. She even shares some insight on future plans for the Taco Bell menu.
“The introduction of our power menu increased our fresh produce offerings by 175,000,000 pounds per year”
Some Topics we talk about in this episode:
- Introduction // Guest - 1:15
- How Do You Bring Nutrition into Taco Bell? - 3:15
- How Do You Define Sustainability - 5:45
- How Do You Define Nutrition? - 7:20
- Creating Menu Items for the Millions - 10:42
- Customer Feedback - 16:20
- Missy’s Insight on the Produce Industry - 20:20
- Increasing the Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables - 24:20
- What’s Next for Taco Bell - 27:20
- Wrap-up - 30:58
How to get involved
- Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week! https://www.facebook.com/groups/316715662104709/
- Reach out to us - we’d love to hear more about where you’re at in life and business! Find out more at www.theproducemom.com
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