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Salads and robots? Unique fresh food option comes to Carle

Salads and robots? Unique fresh food option comes to Carle
As of Monday, Nov. 1, staff and visitors at Carle Foundation Hospital (CFH) in Urbana can enjoy custom meals and snacks at any hour from Sally the fresh food robot. Sally, created by Chowbotics by DoorDash, works alongside Carle’s Food Services team to expand their offerings at new times and places through robotic technology that assembles made-to-order bowls. 
 
Sally will initially be available at the South Clinic Coffee Bar and the virtual kitchen pick-up area in the lower level at CFH. In the future, Sally may be moved to other locations or even become mobile throughout the facility.
 
“I am excited to bring Sally to Carle,” Kevin Steffes, Food Services director, said. “We will be able to provide fresh, customizable salads 24/7 for staff and visitors.”
 
Sally is an ideal alternative to a salad bar or prepackaged vending. The robot’s unlimited accessibility to fresh food will especially benefit those workers providing essential care to patients through the night when other food service options may be limited.
 
Sally_2.jpgSally offers thousands of custom meal and snack options from any combination of up to 22 ingredients, in addition to chef-crafted, preprogrammed salads, grain bowls, breakfast bowls and snacks. Users can see instant nutritional details to fine-tune a meal to their unique dietary needs by adding or subtracting ingredients.

"Sally prepared a fresh salad exactly the way I wanted,” Steffes said. “The portion was great and I loved the balsamic vinaigrette."

The Chowbotics robotics technology protects ingredients in a sealed container kept under constant, monitored refrigeration. Automatic ingredient expiry notifications are sent to Carle’s Food Services team to help ensure the optimal experience.

CFH joins more than 350 locations relying on Sally worldwide.

Categories: Staying Healthy

Tags: Champaign-Urbana, food services, nutrition, salad