Pickwick Landing and David Crockett State Park Restaurants Achieve ‘Eat Real’ Health and Sustainability Certification

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee State Parks restaurants at Pickwick Landing and David Crockett State Parks have achieved Eat REAL Certified Status, a nationally-recognized standard for food service operations focused on sustainability and nutrition. Tennessee State Parks is the only state parks system in the nation to earn certification and among only two national park systems.

Eat REAL ® (Responsible Epicurean and Agricultural Leadership) certification is a trusted mark of excellence for food and food service operators that have gone through a rigorous review process to evaluate the healthfulness and sustainability of their operation.

The Eat REAL Certified program in Tennessee is established through a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Health and Eat REAL. It has recognized more than 100 food service operations across the state. Tennessee’s first state park to announce it had received certification was Henry Horton State Park in May 2018.

Highlights from Pickwick Landing State Park’s review include offering a wide variety of healthy menu items, including Pasta Primavera and a Black Bean Burger. Most purchased produce is organic and the restaurant prioritizes cooking in-house from scratch. Recycling is available for restaurant patrons and park visitors as well as utilized by park management. Staff also compost food scraps, minimizing the environmental impact of food waste sent to the landfill. 

Accomplishments at David Crockett State Park include offering low-sugar food and beverage options, purchasing minimally-processed protein items without any unsafe additives, and providing transparent nutrition and allergen information. The restaurant prioritizes waste reduction through composting, recycling, using reusable tableware and avoiding plastic bags for to-go items.

Other Tennessee State Parks currently in the process of seeking Eat REAL certification include restaurants at Cumberland Mountain State Park, Montgomery Bell State Park and Natchez Trace State Park.

For more information, visit www.tnstateparks.com.

For more information about the Eat REAL certification, visit https://eatreal.org/. 

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