Douglas Kerr - Washington/Baltimore Campus

Food and Football: What more needs to be said?

Hi! My name is Doug Kerr and I’m a dietetic intern for Sodexo Dietetic Internships with a concentration in Medical Nutrition Therapy. My internship site is Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, MD. If I had to choose two things that I love the most in life, I’d choose food and football – so of course when I’m presented the opportunity to focus on both at the same time, I’m going to take full advantage of it!

That’s why I threw a football tailgate themed party in the cafeteria at WAH! As you can tell by looking at my family’s fan van pictured below, I’m a pretty big fan of the Washington Redskins. Tailgating is one of my favorite activities! So fortunately, I was able to fill the entire cafeteria with all the football tailgating necessities, even cornhole!

As staff and visitors of the hospital entered the cafeteria, they were met by an enthused Redskins fan (me) holding two cornhole bags. If they were able to toss one into the hole, they got a small prize along with nutrition education. Everyone was provided with the following five tips to a food-safe tailgate:

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1. Bring a separate cooler for beverages. Frequent opening raises the internal temperature of the cooler and can put food at risk of being in the temperature danger zone.
2. Bring water for handwashing, if none is available at the site. Include liquid hand soap and paper towels with handwashing supplies.
3. Before filling insulated thermos containers with hot foods, fill and empty with boiling water. If you keep the container closed, the food should stay above 140°F for several hours.
4. Bring a food thermometer to ensure safe cooking temperatures. Clean the thermometer after each use to avoid cross contamination.
5. Cook only the amount of food that will be eaten to avoid the challenge of keeping leftovers at a safe temperature. Discard any leftovers that are not below 40°F after the game.

No tailgate party is successful without some delicious tailgate-themed food! The menu featured buffalo and BBQ chicken wings, baked beans, hamburgers, hotdogs, nachos, and vegetarian stuffed bell peppers. Local team-inspired pizzas were also on the menu, including Kirk Cousins’ Buffalo Chicken Pizza, Flacco’s Cheesesteak Pizza, and Cheesy Terps Pizza. We even had glass root beer bottles on ice!

The journey to becoming a Registered Dietitian has been quite a roller coaster ride, but moments like this remind me that it will all be worth it in the end. Nutrition is a part of everyday life, so why not make the best out of it? I feel lucky that I will soon be able to call it a career. I imagine the day I pass the RD exam will feel similar to the day the Redskins win the Super Bowl – I hope one day I’ll be able to compare the two!