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Lauren Doherty
NUTR 4O9

Reflection

- Katie Ferraro

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Nutrition Consulting
Consulting is the act of giving expert advice in a specific field. For aNutition
Consultant, according to Mabel Blades, this is a way of becoming an entrepreneur but the

dietitian themselves is what is on the market, not a product or company

tll.

A Nutition

Consultant can use their knowledge to help organizations, foodservice companies, and individual people alike. Their specialized knowledge is pertinent for a multitude of reasons across a wide
spectrum.

A Nutition Consultant with their RD could work with a foodservice organization to

provide an up to date menu. This could encompass everything from selecting items to be placed
together and added to a current menu or developing a new menu entirely. With sustainability practices and health conscious eating interests on the rise, aNutrition Consultant could be the
person with the abihty to really tailor the new menu to be sustainable and healthy or balanced

according to Tougas [2]. In additiorU the consultant could also make menus for those with allergies like soy, nuts, or even more important as of lately, gluten. The stakes are high when it comes to nutrition in the public eye. When a Nutition Consultant works on the menu of a foodservice company, or any company, once it is complete the consultant also has the ability to help with mar{<eting. The consultant where, and who the new product or menu should be marketed to as well. The benefits of working with a consultant don't end with menus and marketing however,'
a consultant

will likely know when,

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would also likely be able to label products to be placed on the market with the

correct nutrition and ingredients list as required by the Food & Drug Administation in the US,

Lauren Doherty
NUTR 409

Reflection - Katie Ferraro L01L212073

likely preventing any lawsuits down the road. A Nutrition Consultant could offer
a

list of services that would go on and on. The

consultant could also provide private counseling, corporate wellness education, create wellness progfirms, participate or guide nutrition research, and many other services depending on their specializations. In a study by Vogelzang and Roth-Yousen dietitian consultants were found to

play aviable role in nutition research and making the results more credible [3]. Katie Ferraro is a Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Consultant. She was forhrnate
enough to have amother wlro was also a Registered Dietitian and knew from ayolmg age she

wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps but not necessarily doing the same jobs as her mother

did. Katie currently works with a variety of companies all receiving a rumge of different and specific services from Katie. She caters her abilities towards the needs of each company. Overthe yeils Katie has builtrapport withmany vmious companies throughout California, specifically in the San Francisco and San Diego areas. At any given time she works

with multiple companies providing services that probably could not be offered by another sole individual, and that is part of her ability to market herself. By networking and working with other
dietitians and dietetic organizations in each city she has lived ir:, Katie has been able to find work
opportunities throughout Califomia despite making a large move from Northern Califomia to Southem Califonda. She attibuted most of the success to networking and always putting in the
best effort possible on the projects she worked on.

Katie stressed

Au*/t",

her own schedule and the importance of that to her. Personally,

this is what resonated most to me. I nm a morning person and would much rather to be working
by 4am daily and for my work day to be over eadier in the day leaving time to run errands,

Lauren Doherty
NUTR 409

Reflection

Katie Ferraro

LOll2l2OL3 volunteer elsewhere, or work on my own elected project. As aper diem consultant, there is much more flexibility in scheduling and where the worA can be done. Some jobs can be done without being at the company to work. This is an ideal situation for me as well. I did not realize prior to hearing Katie speak that it is possible to work with many different companies instead of holding
a

traditional full-fime job while being able to set your own schedule and take much more

vacation time than the average firll time employee.

I believe a person has much more to offer the world if they have experienced the world
themselves. With the freedom to work from home or anywhere in the world that has internet,

it

would enable me to continue traveling as I have made it a point to do so throughout college. In addition, worldly experiences could potentially make me a more athactive employee for future
employment opportunities that may be culturally based or simply based on living and working in
a

melting pot society like much of California is known to be. While there are some things which I perceive to be risks involved with being aNutition

Consultant, Katie did not seem to be too worried about the lack of benefits provided to per diem employees or the temporary jobs conqprltants are hired for or that Nutrition Consultants can be

first to be cut when budgets get tight. This may be the biggest deterrent for me"in becoming

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could be a single organization of consultants working together that any corporation, foodservice company, or individual could come to and find a consultant for any of their needs. The

networking aspect may limit the scope a bit on finding the correct consultant for a given job.

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Lauren Doherty

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Refleetion

Katie Ferrar'o

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Roftrcnce,List

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Blades, M. Dietitians as enrepreoerlrs

N*rition & Food science'208;a3$):339'343'

58' yolll menrt- Restawant Hospitality' 1992;76(3)' Tougas, J. How a dietitian can help
3. Vogelzang

beliefsandrealitiesofconzultanrtdietitiansinhealthcarefacilities.JAnDietAssoc.
2001;101(a)

,! ,&Roth-Yousey, L' standards "inil*d"g

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practice: Measuringthe

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