RD Nutrition Consultant Service
Founder & President, Jennifer M. Wood, MS, RDN, is a successful food and nutrition business woman. Wood began her career in the gourmet food industry having founded Jenny’s Country Kitchen, Inc., which she grew from a cottage industry to over 2+million in sales. After returning to school, Wood went on to get her graduate degree in interdepartmental nutrition and food science, while becoming a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN).
Wood enjoyed working for large Iowa grocery store chain and then went on to managing a prominent community nutrition program in La Crosse, Wisconsin that was partially funded by President Obama’s Communities Putting Prevention to Work Grants. It was during her collaborative work between Gundersen Health System, the La Crosse County Health Department and Local food Businesses that Wood realized companies sometimes needed temporary or part-time food and nutrition consulting services rather than a full-time registered dietitian on staff; so she set out on her own to fulfill this need by creating Dietitian on Wheels® , a Food and Nutrition Consulting Group serving Minnesota and the surrounding states of Iowa, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
Dietitian on Wheels®’ Success Stories
Chelsea Area Wellness Initiative hired Dietitian on Wheels® to promote their Michigan 5 healthy towns wellness initiative to area food retailers through a community wide presentation (I have the PP if would be beneficial to incorporate it here?), encouraging them to take advantage of an individual dietitian business consultation to launch their own healthy food programs that were then marketed and promoted in their community. This resulted in area grocery stores hiring dietitians to promote healthier foods and corner stores bringing in fresh fruits and vegetables for their communities.
Dietitian on Wheels® provided food and nutrition consulting services to Kwik Trip, Inc., a chain of 400+ Wisconsin-based convenience stores where we implemented the Eat Smart Menu Guide, promoted a healthier concession program, and started their collaborative work with the Partnership for a Healthier America. We went on to promote their healthier eating programs within community collaborations like The La Crosse County Healthy Living Collaboration, Live Well Winona, Making it Better Olmsted County, Dodge Refreshed and on Community Leadership Teams in Freeborn, Mower, Faribault and Martin Counties in MN for the next 4 years. Area successes resulted in Kwik Trip hiring a full-time registered dietitian as part of their product development team in their successful effort to make the healthier choice the easy choice in all the communities they serve in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Faribault, Martin and Watonwon County Health Department in Minnesota hired Dietitian on Wheels® to provide food and nutrition consulting serves to restaurants and food retailers as part of their Statewide Health Improvement funding. Here we collaborated with restaurant owners and food retailers to promote the healthier food options as part of the Eat Well! menu initiative, and Eat Well! Healthier Cornerstore Initiative, increasing their bottom line while improving the health of their communities.
A Nutritious Dish…in a matter of minutes™ was a highly successful collaborative cooking education series between HGTV in Winona, MN, Winona Volunteer Services and Dietitian on Wheels®, where we taught area residents how to choose, store and prepare a nutritious seasonal fruit or vegetable each weak as part of the local TV news line-up. Recipes videos were then used and distributed by Channel One Regional Food Bank and other food banks across Minnesota to educate food recipients on how to incorporate healthy seasonal and locally grown foods into their daily meals through a quick and easy recipe.
Dietetic Internship Opportunities:
Dietitian on Wheels® is a regular preceptor for top-notch nutrition and dietetic interns from Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI, the University of Wisconsin – Stout, and other U.S. Dietetic programs in an effort to educate the next generation of registered dietitian nutritionist on becoming successful food and nutrition practitioners for community health agencies, senior nutrition programs, local food retailers and food manufacturers. Our dietetic interns have had the opportunity to be part of successful real world projects such as: What’s for Dinner Tonight? at Rushford Foods in Rushford, Preston and Harmony, MN, Food Pantry programs in Southeast Minnesota, recipe creation for SEMCAC senior congregate dining services and Meals on Wheels, and working in large C-store manufacturers like Kwik Trip, Inc. in La Crosse, WI.
