In an attempt to help students make educated decisions about their meals, WSU chefs are hosting Wellness Wednesday at the dining halls.

The event gives local farmers the opportunity to discuss where the students’ food comes from, and chefs the chance to provide information about the nutritional benefits of local food.

“The purpose of (Wellness Wednesday) is either to highlight the healthy options and bring it to the forefront, or bring in new items,” said Chelsey Woods, WSU Dining Services’ registered dietitian.

Wellness Wednesday is an event that has taken place each Wednesday in March from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The WSU dining halls will host the final Wellness Wednesday event today.

All of the dining halls use local vegetables as much as possible, so most of the produce comes from local farms.

“Corey King started last fall developing a relationship with the farmers,” said Jake Cho, executive chef at Hillside Café. The farms King reached out to include the Allan Family Farm, Wilson Banner Ranch, WSU Organic Farm, and Omache Farm.

The dining halls already use local produce at the Natural station, and many customers are happy with the food, Cho said.

The freshness of the produce that comes from local farms is one of several reasons WSU chefs are pushing for local food.

“It is better for students to have fresher, local food,” said Keri Wilson, a farmer with the Wilson Banner Ranch. “The taste, flavor, everything is going to be so much better with local food.”

The Wilson Banner Ranch has supplied the Palouse and WSU with produce for more than 100 years, but WSU took a break from using local products until King came to town last fall, Wilson said. He brought with him ideas to use local products, and he made the connections happen, Cho said.

As a WSU alumna, Wilson said she remembers what the dining hall food was like when she was a student.

“I can honestly say when I was a student living in Regents, it looked like most everything came out of a box,” she said.

Myriad improvements have been made to the food since then, and the purpose of Wellness Wednesday is to show the students their healthy food options, and let them know where that food came from.

“My goal through any of these promotions is to show students nutrition does taste good,” Woods said.

Today’s event will take place at all three campus dining halls.