William Persson, marketing coordinator for Bon Appetit, and junior Danielle Lee, marketing assistant for the school’s food provider, have teamed up for a weekly radio show to air on Radio Free Hillsdale. “Green Is the New Black” will be on the college’s radio station on Thursdays at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The show aims to discuss aspects of wellness and healthy living people normally don’t focus on. Lee and Persson hope to broaden the public’s perspective when they consider a food provider’s attempts to encourage healthy eating and living.
“It’s really just to have a different way to bring information about wellness and sustainability to students, and ideally around the country eventually,” Persson said.
Lee hosts the show, and she and Persson discuss trendy diets like keto and carnivore. Lee said the show’s topics will strategically coincide with certain times during the school year. Committing to healthy habits that include dieting are common at the beginning of semesters, and things like regular sleep schedules and stress eating coincide with exam season.
“People overlook wellness a lot. They regard it as a kind of weakness,” Lee said. ”But just to take a minute to step back is good for you, because you do need a healthy body and healthy mindset to function well.”
The show has already reached beyond Hillsdale as listeners connect with the show on social media. Bon Appetit’s official Twitter account even retweeted its first episode. But at Hillsdale, Persson said the show has a particular purpose.
“Hillsdale students like having a dialogue about different topics,” Persson said. “Instead of just giving information, it’s an effort to start a conversation.”
While most students know Bon Appetit foremost for its food service, its management emphasizes a wide lifestyle brand centered on wellness, which is what “Green Is the New Black” will highlight.
Junior Emma Noverr has become a devoted listener to the “Green is the New Black.”
“I love listening to their podcast as a break from homework and a stress reliever. I care about wellness because it’s the foundation that I build the rest of my life on,” Noverr said. “If I don’t feel like I’m living well or healthy, other areas of like my academics and social life suffer.”
Topics will include human trafficking, eating local, organic farming, and more. Lee and Persson plan to have guests who are experts on particular topics to provide insight throughout the semester.
“The goal is to get more ‘why’ answers [from our guests],” Persson said. “I can give the rational answers on why we’ve decided to commit to doing something, but they provide the human component.”
Ultimately, the show hopes to connect all of its topics to create a better understanding of what it means to live a life of wellness and why that lifestyle is worth it.
“With health and wellness, there’s spiritual, bodily, and mental, and all of these things are coming together to form a ‘well’ human being. Being well, there’s something behind it,” Persson said. “The reason why we would say it’s important is it’s going to be conducive to you living a happy life.”