Use photos to tell your MNE story

It’s a best practice to take photos of the different food service venues while you and your team conduct your assessment. Photos are an important part of your local food landscape and can easily show your audience what an installation, ship, or individual venue’s food environment looks like. Food policy, food availability, and behavioral design might seem like abstract ideas, so pair these concepts with photos as you talk through your team’s findings and plans with your leadership, stakeholders, and customers.

5 ways to use photos

Clear, focused photos with good lighting can really help tell your story. Use photos anywhere in the assessment process, including when you’re sharing scoring summaries, collaborating on action plans, and showcasing MNE improvements. Remember to use high-quality photos to optimize the impact.

• Include photos in slide decks to brief your leadership and “show” what scores look like. A score of 60, for example, is more meaningful if you show photos of what “60” looks like in a particular setting.
• Track your progress with “before and after” pictures. Photos are a powerful way to illustrate the hard work of your team and targeted food service venue.

• Congratulate food service venues on their successes. When you share the scoring summary with a venue, identify assets and attach photos with captions to highlight areas that look great. Show, instead of tell, why they received a high score for a particular question.

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    Example question and photo: Dining Facility/Galley assessment: How many healthier options (meat or vegetarian) are available at the Grill/Short Order?
• Identify areas for improvement. Provide specific examples to food service venue operators when you share their scoring summaries. See below examples of feedback with photos and suggestions.
  • Low-scoring areas
    • Lack of signage for promoting healthy options.
    • Lack of “Featured Meal” promoted with a sample plate, photo, or other signage.
  • Suggestions to improve the MNE and increase score
    • Add serving station signage to display the menu.
    • Add Go for Green® Food Cards or signage to highlight Green-coded options.
    • Add a rotating “Featured Meal” at the serving station.
• Share your MNE story and photos with your public affairs office or marketing department to promote your work. Highlight your team’s efforts to improve the nutritional fitness of Service Members and their families through social media or a featured article for your installation’s newsletter.

Have a win to share? Fill out the success story template and amplify your hard work. Or email us your success stories at mneat@usuhs.edu, and we’ll feature them on our website!