Central Region_Quarterly Wellness Review_Q2&3_25

Central Region Quarterly Wellness Review Leslie Mathiasmeier & Emily Weirup 2025 | Quarter 2 & 3

Table of Contents • Throughout The REGION • Guest INTERACTIONS

• Activities By DISTRICT Or ACCOUNT • MICHELLE Kirkwold • KATIE Mckenna • SALVATORE Rosa • STEVE Toliver

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Guest Interactions

Direct Guest Engagement: Group Interactive sessions where we engage with small groups of guests to share nutrition education, cooking tips, and wellness insights, and learning through group discussion and activities.

Year to Date Healthy Kids, 111, 2% Healthy Athletes, 549, 8%

Cooking Class, 4, 0%

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Tabling Event, 5313, 80%

Presentation, 661, 10%

Direct Guest Engagement: Individual Smaller, interactions such as client meetings, athlete consultations, or dietary discussions.

Year to Date Client Member Meeting 23%

Athlete Consult 11%

Other Dietary Concern 2%

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Food Allergy Concern 64%

Engagement by District

Michelle Kirkwold

July - September

Macalester Food For Your Well-Being | Fuel Up The students at Macalester College joined us to sample some delicious house-made pre and post workout beverages and learn about how to optimally fuel your body with food and drink for your best physical performance!

We distributed 143 samples of the Tropical Matcha Buzz and Coconut-Cranberry Refresher beverage: the Refresher was the guest favorite!

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Northwestern Food For Your Well-Being | Fuel Up The University of Northwestern students were delighted to engage in our Fuel Up Food For Your Well-Being event where we sampled out delicious house-made pre and post workout beverages.

They enjoyed tasting the Tropical Matcha Buzz and Coconut Cranberry Refresher while learning all about what fuel our bodies need before, during, and after a workout!

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Katie McKenna

April - June

Federated Food For Your Well-Being | Fuel Up For Your Best Performance The guests in the ATA café joined us to learn how to optimally fuel up before, during, and after their workout.

We provided recipe cards for a pre-workout drink, during workout gel, and post workout recovery beverage. The guests sampled the coconut cranberry refresher post-workout drink, and it was a great hit!

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St Olaf Food For Your Well-Being | Embrace Whole Foods The students of St Olaf joined us for this morning event to learn about the benefits of consuming whole foods, and to create their own yogurt parfait topped with fresh berries and seeds!

Everyone was delighted to have fresh raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries with their parfaits: we even had students say it was the best part of their day and made the morning magical!

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CHS Earth Day | The Tasty Power of Cover Crops For Earth Day 2025, we shined our spotlight on cover crops!

The guests at CHS learned what cover crops are and how they can restore and protect the soil in between seasons.

We sampled out a delicious housemade salad featuring the cover crops sunflower seeds and radishes, and received raving reviews for it!

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St Olaf Food For Your Well-Being | Drink, Refill, Repeat This delightful and refreshing event drew 316 students to grab a hydrating, fruitinfused beverage.

The students were surprised to learn how much water they lose on average each day, which prompted many of them to fill up on an extra cup!

The most popular flavor was the orange pineapple infused water!

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Federated Food For Your Well-Being | Power Your Day The guests at the Cornerstone Cafe were delighted to sample overnight oats that included their choice of a wide variety of toppings! dfs

They were surprised to learn how simple the oats are to make and learn how important it is to consume breakfast to jump-start their metabolism for the day.

Best comment: The event was posted in menu mail, and a guest came up to us and said, “I’ve been waiting all morning for this!”

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Federated Food For Your Well-Being | Personalize Your Plants 57 guests joined us in the ATA café to learn about the versatility of vegetables, and how to prepare them in unique ways!

We gave out samples of a parmesan honey roasted cauliflower, and it was a huge hit!

We received feedback such as: “I could eat a whole bowl of that”, “this is a win”, and “tell the chef we want that on the menu!”

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July - September

Federated Food For Your Well-Being | Drink, Refill, Repeat Twenty-two guests joined us at the Cornerstone café to create their own hydrating sports drink!

They chose a variety of fresh fruits to add to their water, along with some juice and a pinch of salt to obtain electrolytes.

The building was undergoing construction on the third floor making that level extra warm, so the guests that work on that floor gave us additional thanks for helping to keep them cool!

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CHS Food For Your Well-Being | Drink, Refill, Repeat This refreshing event drew in a large crowd of CHS guests on a hot and humid day!

The guests learned about the importance of hydration and created their own DIY sports drink.

In addition to water, the team at CHS provided a variety of fruits, herbs, and juices to add to the drinks. Fresh strawberries, peaches, cranberry juice, and mint were the favorite toppings!

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Federated Food For Your Well-Being | Snacking Made Simple Fifty-seven guests joined us at the ATA location for a fun, healthy snack break! The guests learned about preparing snacks in advance before hunger strikes and had the opportunity to create their own unique trail mix!

The mixed nuts, dried blueberries, and toasted coconut were among the favorite ingredients.

One guest loved the event so she went and brought back a group of colleagues so they could try it out!

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Federated Food For Your Well-Being | Channel Your Inner Chef Twenty-nine guests at Cornerstone Café put on their imaginary chef hats as they learned about the benefits of cooking from scratch!

They sampled a delicious house-made sweet potato and spinach mac and cheese and took home recipe cards (many said they wanted to make it for upcoming holiday gatherings!)

As a bonus, Grace Mennerick our Midwest Fellow joined us for the occasion!

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Salvatore Rosa

April - June

Target North Food For Your Well-Being | Drink, Refill, Repeat It is important to stay hydrated, and the guests at Target North got to accomplish this in a fun and unique way!

75 guests joined us to create their own hydrating sports drink, made up of water, juice, fresh fruit, and a little bit of salt.

The guests learned on average how much water they lose each day, and experienced how easy it is to create your own sports drink with simple ingredients at home!

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Target Plaza Food For Your Well-Being | Drink, Refill, Repeat The guests at Target Plaza were delighted to create their own infused water, and some even decided to level it up by creating a DIY sports drink that included a little salt and juice!

The most popular drink blend contained strawberries, lemon, oranges, mint, and a splash of lemon juice. We had a few guests come back for a refill because of how tasty it was the first round!

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Target North Food For Your Well-Being | Personalize Your Plants The Bon Appetit team at Target provided delicious parmesan honey-roasted cauliflower samples to 58 guests and helped inspire the guest to enjoy plants with a variety of unique flavors!

30 of the guests walked away with copies of the recipes and a vision for how to prepare more plants at home.

Bonus: the sample was made with honey from the Target beehives!

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July - September

Target North Healthy Kids in the Bon Appetit Kitchen Thirty-nine little chefs joined the culinary team at Target North for a fun morning and afternoon class learning about fresh, local ingredients, participating in a taste test, and creating a rainbow vegetable pinwheel!

The kids watched a live demonstration from chef Brian on how to use knives and practiced chopping their own vegetables for the pinwheels!

click here to enjoy more photos from the morning class!

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click here to enjoy more photos from the afternoon class!

Target North Food For Your Well-Being | Start Kids Off Right Seventy-five guests at the Target North campus joined us to create fun, kid-friendly snacks over the lunch hour!

By creating silly critters, happy faces, or ants on a log, the guests learned how to engage children in snack preparation to encourage them to try more fruits and vegetables and build healthier eating habits from the start!

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Target North and Plaza Food For Your Well-Being | Snacking Made Simple Guests at both the Target North and Plaza campus enjoyed creating a delicious snack mix, with items such as popcorn, pecans, banana chips, and granola!

They learned that it is key to be prepared with a nutritious, whole-foods based snack, for whenever hunger strikes.

Between the 2 locations, we had 237 guests stop by!

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Target Stabilizing Blood Sugar Webinar This quarter’s virtual class focused on the importance of stable blood sugar for overall energy, mood, and focus beneficial for everyone, not just those with diabetes.

Registered Dietitian Leslie Mathiasmeier shared the science behind balanced blood sugars and practical culinary strategies to prevent energy crashes and mood dips.

The session drew 21 participants and provided actionable tools for building balanced meals and sustaining steady energy throughout the day.

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Target Feeding Kids with Confidence This new class designed to help parents and caregivers make cooking with kids less stressful and more fun.

Led by Registered Dietitian Leslie Mathiasmeier, the session explored playful, research-backed strategies, from sensory play to edible art, to turn mealtime into meaningful connection.

Though attendance was small (6 participants), the event’s success inspired the creation of a new presentation now being shared across our national wellness team.

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Steve Toliver

April - June

Kauffman | Healthy Kids in the Bon Appetit Kitchen As part of Bring your Child to Work Day at the Kauffman Foundation, this group of little chefs rolled up their sleeves and joined Chef Justin to make yogurt apple donuts!

The kids learned about colors of foods and what they do for the body then watched a live demonstration from chef on how to use knives and then dove into make their own custom apple donut!

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Click Here To Enjoy More Photos!

Medtronic Mounds View Food For Your Well-Being | Brighten the Flavor Bon Appetit partnered with Medtronic’s Simple Steps team for May Measurement Month to bring awareness of sodium in the diet and receive a blood pressure reading.

The guests were surprised to learn how much sodium is in a standard can of vegetables, compared to fresh vegetables that does not contain any!

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Medtronic Quick Pickle Cooking Class In partnership with the Medtronic Twin Cities ECO Employee Resource Group, we hosted a hands-on Quick Pickle Class where participants learned to make flavorful pickles from a variety of fresh ingredients. Chef Cory led the session with creativity and enthusiasm, inspiring guests with new culinary ideas and techniques.

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Though a small group of four participants attended, the class was a fun, high-impact collaboration that showcased the connection between food, nutrition, and sustainability. click here to see more photos!

Medtronic “Letter to My Mother” Resource Fair As part of Medtronic’s “Letter to My Mother: Take Care of Your Heart” campaign, we connected with employees and their mothers at a wellness resource fair focused on heart health and nutrition. Our team shared smart swaps for high-sodium foods and practical tips for everyday heart care.

The event drew several hundred attendees, creating meaningful conversations around food, family, and well-being.

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Stowers Toast Your Way to Gut Health At the Mental Health Marketplace event, we invited guests to explore the connection between gut health and mood through a hands-on “Build Your Own Sourdough Toast” experience. Participants created zv delicious toast combinations with fermented and fresh toppings like kimchi, sauerkraut, avocado, and berries, while Registered Dietitian Leslie Mathiasmeier shared insights on the benefits of each ingredient.

The booth drew 45 participants and offered an engaging, flavorful way to connect food, fun, and mental well-being.

OHQ Medtronic Food For Your Well-Being | Brighten the Flavor Bon Appetit partnered with Medtronic’s Simple Steps team for May Measurement Month to bring awareness of sodium in the diet and receive a blood pressure reading.

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The guests were surprised to learn how much sodium is in commercially made salad dressings and canned vegetables! They found the display to be helpful in making decisions for their future grocery shopping.

Picture featuring Kelly from Simple Steps!

Medtronic Food and Mood: Virtual Webinar with the Medtronic Women’s Network Hosted for the Medtronic Women’s Network, this virtual session explored the connection between nutrition, mood, and energy.

Registered Dietitian Leslie Mathiasmeier shared practical ways to nourish both body and mind, while a member of the Medtronic Wellness Team co-presented and led a guided meditation.

The event drew 40 participants and offered an inspiring blend of nutrition education and mindfulness.

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July - September

Medtronic Food For Your Well-Being | Gardening The pleasant aroma of the fresh herbs drew our guests in to learn how to grow different kinds of herbs, as well as learn some tips and tricks for gardening.

The guests played a guess-the-herb game, and most were able to identify all five herbs except for oregano which proved to be the trickiest!

We gave out thyme, dill, and oregano seeds for the guests to take home and begin planting their own herbs.

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Medtronic Food For Your Well-Being | Drink, Refill, Repeat This refreshing event drew in 56 Medtronic guests on a hot and humid day!

The guests learned about the importance of hydration and created their own sports drink with a base of water, a variety of fruit, juice, and salt.

Pineapple and strawberries with lemon juice and salt was the crowd favorite beverage!

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Medtronic Healthy Kids in the Bon Appetit Kitchen Twenty-two little chefs rolled up their sleeves and joined the culinary team at Mounds View to make fresh, smoothie bowls, and sample some fun new foods like broccoli microgreens and gooseberries!

The kids watched a live demonstration from chef Cory on how to use knives and practiced chopping their own fruit to top on their smoothie bowls!

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click here to enjoy more photos!

Medtronic Food For Your Well-Being | Drink, Refill, Repeat Thirty guests at OHQ Medtronic joined us to create fruit-infused, hydrating sports drinks!

The guests learned about their daily water loss and why it is so important to stay hydrated.

The guest favorite flavor combination was mixed berries, and a splash of orange juice added into the water with a pinch of salt.

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Medtronic Food For Your Well-Being | Snacking Made Simple The guests at Rice Creek Medtronic were delighted to create their own trail mix snack with a variety of delicious toppings provided by our Bon Appétit team!

They learned about the benefits of being prepared with a healthful snack when hunger strikes.

Some of the favorite toppings were dried papaya, toasted almonds, walnuts, and crunchy corn!

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Luther College Healthy Athletes Education 468 student athletes participated across 15+ sports, including basketball, softball, track, swim & dive, and football participated in a seminar on fueling for performance and recovery; covering nutrient needs, hydration, and pre/post-event fueling strategies.

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Our culinary team also introduced refreshing, athlete-focused smoothie bowls, which were a big hit!

“Thank you so much on behalf of the men’s basketball team for what I heard was a wonderful and informative presentation on nutrition last week… Our team and staff feel incredibly lucky to have been able to work with you and love the changes you’ve helped make in the café!”

— Jake Boyd, Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach, Luther College

Happy trails, garden snails!