• Struggling to eat well when eating out?

    We'll let you know when restaurants near you
    become REAL Certified.

  • As a token of our appreciation, we'll send you our
    top 10 tips for eating healthy when eating out!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Seedays First REAL Certified Restaurant in Illinois

February 18, 2015

Seedays REAL Press Release

Contact:
Steve Wolff - (847) 278-1624
[email protected]

Seedays First REAL Certified Restaurant in Illinois

Chicago – February 18, 2015 – In its quest to provide healthy, affordable food options in a casual environment, Seedays has earned the Responsible Epicurean and Agricultural Leadership (REAL) Certified seal of approval from the United States Healthful Food Council. The restaurant is the first in Illinois as well as one of the first restaurant chains in the country to receive the honor.

Based on a points system, REAL Certified recognizes food service providers that maximize healthy, holistic options like whole grains and minimally processed foods, moderate starches, animal products and portion sizes, and minimize unhealthy cooking methods such as deep-frying and added sugars. The certification is a nationally recognized symbol of foods prepared utilizing nutrition and sustainability best practices, which is why Seedays Chef, Greg Kuczaj, said the growing restaurant chain decided to pursue it.

“We want our customers to know that fast food can also be healthy,” Kuczaj said. “They can always come to Seedays and feel good about the food they’re feeding their families without breaking the bank.”

Developed with the input of a panel of industry experts including those in academia and government, chefs and restaurateurs, third party registered dietitians conduct the certification process. The right balance of health, moderation and minimization is evaluated through menu, supply chain and operations analysis as well as interviews. The USHFC is based in Washington, DC, but Kim Blum, registered dietitian and Vice President of Nutrition, is based in Chicago and oversaw the Seedays certification process. The growing certification program began in 2012 and now includes certified restaurants and institutional dining locations in over 25 states.

“Consumers who are concerned with health and sustainability are increasingly concerned about dining out, and REAL Certified has been designed to help them distinguish food service providers that are taking these issues seriously,” said Lawrence Williams, CEO of the USHFC. “Based on our analysis and the changes their team implemented, it’s our pleasure to recognize Seedays as REAL Certified.”

Seedays currently has two locations in the Chicago area: 201 North Clark, Chicago and 6170 West Grand Avenue, Gurnee and is looking to expand. For more information, please visit www. Seedays.com.

###

About the United States Healthful Food Council (USHFC)

Established in 2011, the USHFC is a 501(c)3 registered nonprofit dedicated to fighting diet-related disease by realigning the food industry’s incentives with consumers’ health interests. The USHFC works towards its mission through the REAL Certified holistic nutrition and sustainability certification program. REAL Certified foodservice operators must satisfy prerequisites and earn sufficient points in the areas of Responsible (nutrition), Epicurean (preparation), Agricultural (sourcing) and Leadership (going above and beyond). The organization has received financial support from the Tennessee Department of Health, the Park Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President’s Grant Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation. More information can be found at USHFC.org and REALCertified.org.