Case Study: Minnesota Vikings
We chatted with the Executive Chef of the Vikings, Paige Sullivan, on why Farmer's Fridge is the perfect meal solution for their facility.
How Farmer's Fridge became the solution
• We offer free and convenient meal options to over 300 players, coaches and staff
• We increased meal variety without needing to hire additional staff
• We provide labor-free and healthy meals as a supplement to the existing cafe
Meet the satisfied client
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional football team. Their stadium is in Minneapolis and their training facility is in Eagan, Minnesota, home to over 300 players, coaches, and staff. The facility is open five to seven days a week (depending on), whether they're in training camp or the regular season, so an on-site meal solution is necessary, especially because of the physical nature of the job.
Executive Chef Paige Sullivan is responsible for providing all of the food and beverage options for the NFL team and staff — no small task. We connected with her to learn more about the challenges she had which resulted in us installing a Fridge in the Vikings facility.
The challenges they faced
Chef Sullivan explained the facility has a self-operated cafe on the third floor where she prepares daily lunch which consists of two vegetables, starches, proteins, a soup and a hot sandwich. Even with this well-rounded offering, it's still a massive challenge for players to hit their calorie goals which can be anywhere from 5,000 - 7,000 calories a day. Between practices and games, they exert massive amounts of energy that need replenishment. So, Sullivan set out to find a meal solution that would be more convenient for players to fuel their bodies properly.
She went on to share that while a convenient and nutritious solution was of utmost importance, she still needed to consider the labor aspect of the solution as well.
From a manager's standpoint, I don't have to do anything with the Fridge. So I can now offer even more variety within the building without having to do anything — I was immediately sold.
- Paige Sullivan, Executive Chef of the Minnesota Vikings
The labor-free and convenient solution
The Vikings installed a Farmer's Fridge on the first floor of their facility in April 2022 that is free for players and staff.
Chef Sullivan remarked that Farmer's Fridge is a no-brainer because no other provider offers convenient, fresh, nutritious and labor-free meals. If she were to stock something like the Fridge herself, she would have to hire two additional staff. Three times a week, their Fridge is stocked with a wide variety of veggie-forward meals that fuel the players and help them more easily reach their daily calorie goals.
Chef Sullivan often checks the meals to ensure that the quality and flavor are something she'd feed her own family. She's yet to have one poor experience and shared that the players enjoy it so much that they'll even bring meals home for their families.
Ultimately, Farmer's Fridge was a total win for both the Vikings team and Executive Chef Paige Sullivan.
Interested in learning more about how Farmer's Fridge can provide fresh, healthy meals for your workplace or organization?
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