August Member Spotlight: Alea Lester Fite

Provide us with a brief description of your job: Retail Registered Dietitian with Hy-Vee. I help customers reach their health and wellness goals through nutrition counseling, grocery store tours, and educational programs.

What do you love about what you do? I love helping clients work towards their health and wellness goals. I really enjoy approaching each client as an individual and creating specialized counseling programs offering continued support and encouragement.

What are the challenges? One of the challenges that I face as a retail dietitian is increasing the visibility of the nutrition program and helping people understand what I do and the services I provide.

How has your MAND membership benefited you? It helps keep me in touch with Nutrition/Dietetic related events in the area. It is also a good resource for educational and networking opportunities.

What do you think is the future of nutrition and dietetics? Think and hope that the area of nutrition and dietetics is moving towards a more preventative role. As a society we often focus more on treating issues once they have already arisen, but I feel that many Dietitians are moving into a more proactive role to help prevent the development of chronic diseases.

What are your favorite activities/hobbies? I love to train for and compete in triathlon, work in the garden, and read murder mystery novels.

What is your favorite restaurant in Minnesota? One of my favorite restaurants is Wok in the Park