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Here are the local veggies we're featuring this week at Eat'n Park!

Tomatoes
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Holthouse Farms, Willard, Ohio
Harvest Valley Farms, Butler, PA

Grape Tomatoes
Yarnick Farms, Indiana, PA

Zucchini
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Wexford Farms, Allegheny County
Laurel Vista Farm, Somerset County
Harvest Valley Farms, Butler, PA
Mason Farms, Erie, PA

Green Cabbage
Yarnick Farms, Indiana, PA
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Mason Farms, Erie, PA

Green Peppers
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Harvest Valley Farms, Butler County
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Mason Farms, Erie County

Cucumbers
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Harvest Valley Farms, Butler County
Mason Farms, Erie County
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Laurel Vista Farms, Somerset County
KW Zellers & Son, Hartville, OH

Yellow Squash
Harvest Valley Farm, Butler County
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Wexford Farms, Allegheny County
Mason Farms, Erie, PA

Green Beans
Mason Farms, Erie County
KW Zellers & Son, Hartville, OH

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Smiley lent a big hand again this year at Greenford Ohio’s Big Reach Back to School Event on Saturday, August 6th. Smiley helped the Big Reach Center of Hope prepare over 1,000 families for back-to-school by providing kids of all ages with backpack tags and a treat for their new lunchboxes: Smiley Cookies!


Kids even got to spend some quality time with their friend Smiley while they were waiting for their physicals, getting their hair cut, and filling their carts with food and back-to-school supplies. There was a great turnout, and families said that waiting for all the back-to-school festivities was easier because they knew there was Smiley Cookie decorating afterwards!


Overall, the day was a big success and Smiley would like to thank all of the volunteers and families for filling the day with so many smiles!

Judy
Team Smiley

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Here's what's fresh and local at Eat'n Park this week! And might we add that those local tomatoes are fabulous in our Baked Chicken Bruschetta!

Tomatoes
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Holthouse Farms, Willard, Ohio
Harvest Valley Farms, Butler, PA

Grape Tomatoes
Yarnick Farms, Indiana, PA

Zucchini
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Yarnick Farms, Indiana, PA
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Wexford Farms, Allegheny County
Laurel Vista Farm, Somerset County
Harvest Valley Farms, Butler, PA
Mason Farms, Erie, PA

Green Cabbage
Yarnick Farms, Indiana, PA
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Mason Farms, Erie, PA

Green Peppers
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Mason Farms, Erie County

Cucumbers
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Mason Farms, Erie County
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Laurel Vista Farms, Somerset County

Yellow Squash
Harvest Valley Farm, Butler County
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Wexford Farms, Allegheny County
Mason Farms, Erie, PA

Green Beans
Mason Farms, Erie County
Laurel Vista Farms, Somerset, PA

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Here's what's fresh and local at Eat'n Park this week!

Tomatoes
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Holthouse Farms, Willard, Ohio
Harvest Valley Farms, Butler, PA

Grape Tomatoes
Yarnick Farms, Indiana, PA

Zucchini
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Yarnick Farms, Indiana, PA
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Wexford Farms, Allegheny County
Laurel Vista Farm, Somerset County
Harvest Valley Farms, Butler, PA
Mason Farms, Erie, PA

Green Cabbage
Yarnick Farms, Indiana, PA
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Mason Farms, Erie, PA

Green Peppers
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Mason Farms, Erie County

Cucumbers
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Mason Farms, Erie County
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Laurel Vista Farms, Somerset County

Yellow Squash
Harvest Valley Farm, Butler County
Brenckle Farms, Butler County
Wiers Farms, Willard, OH
Holthouse Farms, Willard, OH
Wexford Farms, Allegheny County
Mason Farms, Erie, PA

Green Beans
Mason Farms, Erie County
Laurel Vista Farms, Somerset, PA

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Recognize that face? If you've visited our Steubenville, OH Eat'n Park, you've probably met Lanna, our baker/manager/greeter/prep person extraordinaire! She made her television debut in our latest commercial.

Let's take a minute to learn a little more about Lanna....

Q: So, it looks like there isn't much you CAN'T do! What's your favorite role at Eat'n Park?
A: I love meeting new people, and I get to do that as a shift manager and as a greeter. But I also like doing prep and working in the bakery - at the end of the day, I feel like I've gotten a lot done. And, it's appreciated by both my team members AND our guests.

Q: So, how fast can you ice a tray of two dozen Smiley Cookies?
A: (Without hesitation) Eleven minutes!

Q: Besides Smiley Cookies, what's your favorite menu item?
A: The Pittsburgh Turkey Sandwich! I'm so glad we brought it back.

Q: Who's going to be most excited to see you in the commercial?
A: My brothers and sisters, my husband...pretty much all of my immediate family.

Next time you're visiting our Steubenville restaurant, make sure to say hello!
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Here's what's fresh and local at Eat'n Park this week!

Zucchini
Fresh in: Hand-Breaded Zucchini

• Brenckle Farms, Butler County
• Yarnick Farms, Indiana, PA
• Wexford Farms, Allegheny County
• Laurel Vista Farm, Somerset County

Green Cabbage
Fresh in: Housemade Coleslaw

• Yarnick Farms, Indiana, PA

Green Peppers

• Brenckle Farms, Butler County
• Mason Farms, Erie County

Cucumbers

• Brenckle Farms, Butler County
• Mason Farms, Erie County
• Laurel Vista Farms, Somerset County

Yellow Squash

• Harvest Valley Farm, Butler County

Green Beans
Fresh in: FarmSource Vegetable Soup

• Mason Farms, Erie County

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Have you seen our newest commercials? If you recognize a familiar face or two, it’s no surprise – the stars of these ads are real team members who truly have a passion for their work. They may have greeted you last time you visited your local Eat’n Park, or perhaps prepared your meal.



So, who are these smiling ambassadors? Let’s take a minute to learn more about a few of them.

Amber
Server at our Fox Chapel/Waterworks Eat’n Park for 1 year

Q: What’s your favorite thing about Eat’n Park?
A: The other team members – they’re really friendly, and they make me feel right at home. I’ve made a lot of great friends here.

Q: Tell us what your favorite Eat’n Park meal is.
A: Philly Cheese Steak, sub mozzarella cheese! And I also love our Oreo Crème Pie.

Q: Do you think your friends will recognize you in the commercial?
A: They’d better! I Facebooked it to everyone!

A: I like serving – I love taking caring of my customers one on one. I get to make sure they’re happy.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about Eat’n Park?
A: That the company gets involved in the community and really tries to help out. Especially with Caring for Kids – every year, my restaurant holds a Tips for Tots event, as well as raffles to raise money. I love to get involved with the cause.

Q: Who’s going to be most excited to see you in the commercial?
A: I have two answers to that one! My regular customers, and my 3-year old grandson. He’ll be shouting “Nana!!”

Dom and Emilee
Greeters at our Waterfront and South Hills Village locations, respectively

Q: What’s your favorite thing about Eat’n Park?
Dom: The kids who come in. They’re funny, and they’re always smiling.
Emilee: I love the cookies! I love seeing the smiles they bring to guests faces.

Q: What brought you to Eat’n Park?
Emilee: My sister started working at Eat’n Park first, and she’s really enjoyed it. So I joined her!
Dom: Same here! My mom and sister both work at Eat’n Park.

Q: Who’s going to be most excited to see you in the commercial?
Dom: My 2-year old nephew. He’ll be so excited!
Emilee: My mom – she’s my biggest fan! In fact, she even came to the shoot with me.

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Beginning on August 1, we embarked on an innovative partnership to talk to kids and their parents about nutrition in a fun, relatable way. We think that an important part of “empowering parents and caregivers with choices” is educating them about those choices. As part of this goal, we introduced the world of Fitwits into our restaurants. Fitwits is an obesity prevention and health literacy research project that uses games and character-driven narratives to transform unhealthy lifestyles into healthy ones.

We’re glad to welcome guest blogger, Kristin Hughes- Associate Professor of Design at Carnegie Mellon University - to tell you about how this program called Fitwits was created and how it made its way to Eat’n Park.


When it comes to educating families about nutrition, we face many challenges. Many children and families lack the knowledge base to make healthy dietary and activity choices. Environmental and social changes, physical inactivity, abundant energy-dense foods and beverages, and poorly understood health education conspire against healthy lifestyle choices. Physicians, parents/caretakers, teachers, community leaders and corporations like Eat’n Park can and should exert a leadership role to help in the fight against obesity. Small changes in people’s lifestyles, choices and habits can make a big difference.

Fitwits first took shape in the Fall of 2007 when a team of concerned Pittsburgh-based designers, doctors, teachers and parents had a conversation about the growing epidemic of childhood obesity and what we could do to help create change. As a team, we worked to developed methods that could help us to understand how people discuss and deal with issues surrounding their own health. We began to look at all facets of the problem in order to identify opportunities for change.

In our preliminary research, some of the most valuable lessons we learned came out of our sessions observing doctors talk to patients about their weight problems. Patients were handed a folder containing charts, contracts, and diagrams to assist them in their daily decisions regarding general nutrition. Unfortunately, the complex language of these materials inhibited their understanding, and thus adoption of the health recommendations, once they left the doctor’s office.

We also found that many misconceptions and lack of knowledge about nutrition came into play when we interviewed families. For example, one interviewed parent, when asked about the number of fruit servings her son has everyday, responded, “he eats cherry and strawberry Jell-O at least four times a day.” In both examples doctors and parents were trying to do good, but we learned that it isn’t always easy to make things that are easy to understand and fun to use.

We began to categorize our findings, which helped us to establish steps for moving forward. We designed games and activities that encouraged people to move physically, exposed them to nutritional concepts, and allowed them opportunities to express what they learned. In doing so, our Pittsburgh coalition framed a health conversation for children, families, schools, community leaders and physicians – “Fitwits.”

Fitwits’ partnership with Eat’n Park gives us the opportunity to relate this important information to families during a pivotal point in their day: mealtime. We’re proud to partner with Eat’n Park and look forward to hearing your feedback about Fitwits.

Stop by any Eat’n Park to pick up a character card and a complimentary game set, just by asking your server!

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