Senior living community signs onto MyPlate initiative

Sunrise Senior Living has signed on as a partner in the USDA’s MyPlate program, an initiative intended to foster more healthful eating by raising awareness of what components should constitute a meal.

Virginia-based Sunrise is the first national player from senior living to commit to the MyPlate approach to building healthful meals, a spokesman confirmed with FSD.

First Lady Michelle Obama released the MyPlate icon in 2011 to encourage a healthy diet centered on the USDA’s dietary guidelines. As a strategic partner, Sunrise will promote the program and its guidelines to help seniors make healthy food choices.

“We look forward to the latest Dietary Guidelines so that we can continue making flavorful, healthy meals that are focused on the five food groups available to our residents,” Tim Whelan, VP of dining services and senior nutrition at Sunrise, said in a statement.