Howard County restaurants slow to respond to healthy dining program

Howard County (Map, News) - Howard County restaurant owners have been slow to respond to the county’s push for healthier dining options.

“I wish there had been more response,” said Samantha O’Neil, coordinator for the Health Department’s Healthy Howard initiative.

Some restaurant owners have expressed interest, but nearly three months after the program was announced, none has completed applications.

Healthy Restaurants was the first phase of Healthy Howard, a plan to make the county a model public health community.

Dr. Peter Beilenson, Howard’s health officer, said more than 100 restaurants were eligible for the program out of 400 in the county. Many of the restaurants were “not stellar, inspection-wise,” he said, and couldn’t pass the criteria to apply for the healthy seal of approval.

So far, 32 applications have been sent to restaurants.

“I knew it would be hard to get the initial five signed on,” O’Neil said, referring to this summer’s goal.

The department wants to receive two applications and have two recipes analyzed a week, she said.

To encourage participation, the Health Department is planning to start face-to-face meetings with restaurant owners.

Mike Powell, director of food and beverage operations at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, said the application isn’t too burdensome to fill out. He was planning to send it in this week for the resort’s upscale Alexandra’s restaurant.

“It seems to be a popular trend of people wanting to be more healthy,” he said, adding he hopes the recognition will enhance business.

But Powell said there is some resistance in the restaurant community. Using trans fat-free oil costs more and a healthy flag can make menu items less popular, he said. “People have a choice. We are just giving them healthy alternatives.”

More information

To earn recognition under Howard County’s Healthy Restaurants initiative, restaurants must:

» Be trans fat-free

» Provide nutritional information

» Offer healthy menu options

» Fully comply with anti-smoking laws

» Pass two consecutive food inspections without major violations

smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com