Dynamic retail Dietitian Hailey Boudreau, RD, LD

We’re introducing you to Dynamic Dietitians nationwide. You’ll be amazed at all the places you can find a dietitian, and remember, we can staff in any setting, too!

Community + clinical + food service

If there’s one question to ask yourself before deciding among the clinical, community or food service career paths, it’s this: “Where can I make the biggest difference?”

For Hailey Boudreau, RD, LD, in Des Moines, IA, she knew clinical wasn’t for her, but when it came to food service or community, she wasn’t sure.

As fate would have it, Hailey didn’t get into an internship right after graduation, so she used the year gap to build up her resume exploring different areas of nutrition.

She worked at a kids’ camp, as a dietary aid at a long-term care community and managed kitchens in school food service.

“I would never go back and get my internship right away,” Hailey said. “That experience helped me land my dream job after my internship.”

Living the dream

That dream job is a retail dietitian at Hy-Vee, a large grocery store chain in the Midwest, where Hailey has healthy doses of community, food service and clinical work mixed into her day.

No day or week is ever the same, and Hailey loves that she often has instant influence on those she meets with.

“If I’m educating in the grocery store, I can see that they are considering the items I recommend based on their individual needs, or they’ll come by and update me on their progress,” Hailey said.

She wants to be confident that based on the information she shares, the customer walks away with a 100 percent understanding.

On-trend all the time

Another crucial aspect for a retail dietitian is staying current with food trends, and retail is ever changing.

If someone reads something online, Hailey is their resource to talk about it in person. To help communicate trends and foods that meet certain dietary needs or interests, Hailey uses signage throughout the store, presentations and demonstrations.

Extras

Hailey extends her love for food and nutrition beyond the aisles each month to bake with a girl who has Down’s Syndrome.

“She’s the fastest baker I’ve ever seen. She literally just needs me there to help watch the timer,” Hailey said.

Through a program called Look, Cook, and Eat, Hailey is teaches cooking classes at the grocery store to students with intellectual disabilities.

“Hy-Vee made it possible for me to work with people that I care so much about,” Hailey said.

Hailey loves being a community/retail dietitian because of the diversity in the job and the clients. Every day she encounters different budgets, diets, food trends and demos. It’s a great way for her to combine her natural ability to help people with her passion for health and nutrition.

“My goal is making sure the customer has what they need,” Hailey said. “That’s my responsibility has a dietitian, but I’m proud that it aligns with Hy-Vee’s goal of making customers’ lives easier, healthier and happier.”

Dietitians On Demand is the nationwide leader in staffing registered dietitians, specializing in short-term, temporary and permanent-hire positions in ANY setting, even school food service or eating disorder clinics. Our dietitians cover a vacancy, maternity leave, vacations, FMLA or increases in census. Check out our job openings, or request your coverage today!