They’re additionally wanting native: About 80% of the merchandise consumed (together with all beef and eggs) can be of French origin, with one-fourth coming from inside about 155 miles of Paris. And organizers purpose to halve the burden of single-use plastics all through Olympic catering amenities, which means extra reusable glass bottles and tableware, fewer and smaller plastic bottles, and a push to recycle and compost when attainable.
And, after all, there can be bread. Numerous bread.
France doesn’t skimp on carbs, so the Village can be no completely different. Paris is thought for its boulangeries and pâtisseries, and athletes will get to style all of it. An on-site bakery will end up recent baguettes and even provide workshops for athletes, the place they’ll form and bake their very own lengthy, skinny loaves.
Staff USA will journey with a workforce of dietitians.
If all these choices are making your head swarm, you’re not alone: First-time Olympians usually discover the scale and number of the eating corridor overwhelming, Alicia Glass, senior sports activities dietitian for the USOPC, tells SELF. As they put together for what may be their biggest-ever occasion, they need meals that meets their dietary wants, doesn’t trigger gastrointestinal misery, and makes them really feel snug, assured, and able to carry out at their finest.
That’s the place the dozen-plus USOPC dietitians are available in, with every workforce assigned at the least one. For instance, Glass works with swimmers initially of the meet, and monitor and subject athletes later within the competitors. “One of many greatest issues our job focuses on is making a home-field benefit, which is difficult if you’re in a global nation,” Glass says.
To get there, she gives customized vitamin recommendation to athletes all year long if they need it. She additionally coordinated with Knutson and his workforce to get acquainted meals like protein bars, peanut butter, and fruit snacks shipped from the US to France. (They positioned orders round Christmastime to verify the shelf-stable meals may clear customs.)
On the bottom in Paris, she plans to stroll athletes by means of the eating corridor, serving to them discover decisions that align with what they eat at residence. She’ll scope out menus and ingredient lists, making certain they get the vitamins they want and keep away from allergens. And she or he’ll give them tips about finding water stations and low within the Village, in addition to assist them assume by means of the logistics—as an illustration, in the event that they’ll even have time to attend in line for a latte earlier than catching a bus to their coaching facility or competitors venue.
This yr, she’ll have some high-tech assist, by means of an app referred to as Teamworks Vitamin. Athletes can use the app to trace what they’re consuming throughout the Video games, ensuring they’re getting all of the macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fats) and micronutrients (such anti-inflammatory polyphenols and vitamin C present in vegetables and fruit). If they need a dietitian’s opinion, Glass and her colleagues can test the app and make suggestions; they’ll additionally use the app to order meals for supply or different particular requests.
And Staff USA athletes will get pleasure from a complete separate eating corridor only for them.
American athletes even have the choice of consuming meals on the Excessive Efficiency Middle, a one-stop store that homes one other 250-seat eating corridor, along with sports activities drugs and psychological well being practitioners, in addition to cold and hot plunge swimming pools and cryotherapy chambers. It’s open from 7 a.m. to eight p.m. and can be well-stocked with acquainted gadgets, says Knutson, who estimates they’ll serve about 25,000 meals to Staff USA Olympians, Paralympians, coaches, and staffers.