RDN Spotlight: Cara Toomey, RDN
What is your ethnicity/race? Did your family have any customs related to food? Please describe.
l am bi Racial. My dad is African American and my mom is white. We didn’t have too many cultural traditions around food. However, at every family gathering, food is the center point. I grew up in an area with diverse food offerings, and my mom loved to cook. We ate food from many different cultures and exploring various cultures through food was always encouraged.
Where/when did you go to undergrad/dietetic internship/grad school?
San Francisco State University - MS- Expected May 2022
Kansas State University - BS Nutrition and Dietetics
Meredith College in Raleigh, NC - DI.
Why did you decide to choose nutrition and dietetics as a career?
I was not happy with my career trajectory after graduating with a degree in communication. As I considered what my next move would be, I thought about what I love to spend my time doing, and what life experiences had most affected me so far.
Food and my relationships with people were at the top of the list. I had struggled with my body image and relationship with food growing up. I wanted to understand food and how it works in the body as a way to understand myself better. I love food and cooking and talking about food. I also desired to help others and build relationships. I found all of these things were possible with a career in dietetics. I would get to talk about food and be able to help other people heal as well. I returned to school for a degree in dietetics.
I love that food and nutrition is an art and a science. Food can be a creative outlet. Food is a way for people to connect with others, and themselves. Food is a way we nourish ourselves, and I wanted to understand physiologically how that happened, while also understanding that our relationship with food, our attitudes, and how we think about it affects us as well.
As I have moved forward in my career, I have learned more about intuitive eating and Health at Every Size approach to practice, which really resonated with my values as a practitioner.
What do you do now as an RDN and what does a typical day/week look like for you?
I work in school food nutrition and I am in grad school. As a nutritionist in a school lunch program, my tasks change day to day. One day I do nutritional analysis to ensure our menus are compliant with federal guidelines. Our menus have to meet certain criteria for fat, salt, and calories based on the age group. We also have to meet certain requirements for grain, fruits, and vegetables to ensure the menu is offering a variety of nutrients. The next day I may run nutrition education for the students and community. I have done presentations for parents on how to read food labels and picky eating and visited kindergarten classrooms to teach them about food groups and how to use their meal cards at the cafeteria.
Part of my position is to do taste tests with students. We get student feedback before introducing a new item on the menu. We may also do taste testing of various fruits and vegetables at recess to introduce them to new produce they may not have tried before. We also gather ideas for new products and recipes that students want to see, as well as how they feel about the general experience of eating school lunch.
Some days I work to standardize recipes with the kitchen staff. This involves getting their input for how they use the equipment, how much time it may take them, any problems they have with the recipe, and ensuring that the number of servings the recipe creates and its quality is consistent. I also run staff training and even serve lunch every once in a while.
Our staff has to be trained regularly on sanitation procedures as well as meal components to ensure that the standards of the National School Lunch Program are being upheld. I don’t serve lunch very often. When I do, I love getting to talk with the kids to hear what they have to say about the food. Seeing them be silly with each other as they eat and enjoy their lunch is a highlight of a job well done by our entire team.
What is/was the biggest challenge for you in becoming a dietitian and how did you overcome that challenge? This can be related to being an RD of color or not just any challenge?
Finding a clinical rotation. When I applied to DIs, I matched in the second round the first time I applied. The program I ended up matching with required me to find my own rotations. Finding a clinical rotation was very difficult. I wrote every hospital in my area. I went in person with letters and my resume, I sent emails and put in phone calls to the clinical supervisors at various hospitals. I kept getting told no. It felt like not getting a clinical rotation may actually prevent me from completing my program. I persevered and was able to secure a clinical rotation, although I did have to move about 2 hours away for the duration of my clinical rotation to be able to make it happen.
It was definitely super challenging and made the journey feel much more difficult to me. I feel like I overcame it by making my needs known to many different people. No one can help you if they don’t know you are struggling, and what you may need. Being creative about who to call, and how to get in contact with people was also important. Even if someone can’t directly help you, they may be able to give you a resource or contact that can get what you need. I also think communicating with the director of my DI about what I was experiencing was helpful as well, so that my frustration was not kept in, and she was aware of what I was going through and could assure me that I will get there, and help as much as she could with guidance.
Have you had any mentors in your career if yes how have those mentors affected your career/life?
My preceptors during my DI were fabulous mentors. They very much positively affected my career. I feel like a good mentor not only teaches you but helps you to grow beyond what you think you are capable of. In order to do this, I think allowing space to make mistakes is imperative. Everyone I think of as a mentor has allowed for that space. If you feel safe to make mistakes, some of the fear that may prevent you from expanding your abilities is removed. This is true not only for professional growth, but personal growth as well, and it has also shown me that I want to do that for others I work with as well. I also think my mentors have shown me that progress, not perfection is the goal. My DI director always reminded us that in the beginning, our evaluations should be lower, but as long as they were trending up, even with some setbacks, we are moving in the right direction. When we focus on perfection, and what makes us not perfect, we miss out on noticing how we are in fact growing and learning.
Why do you think diversifying this field is important.
People want and need to see themselves reflected in the systems in which they participate. Right now our field is not diverse. Cultural competence can only be reached when the field has the representation of diverse cultures or communities to point out blind spots.
When we have cultural competence, we can better help those we serve, because we will truly understand their needs. Many of our plans and interventions are based on eurocentric models and body types. I am of the belief it's not nutrition until you eat it. We need people to believe they can do what we are suggesting. If we don't attempt to understand people's cultural beliefs and traditions around food, we can’t understand and meet people where they are at. We must provide information and food that is based on their experiences and traditions.
In my position as a nutritionist for the school district, we attempt to reflect the cuisine of the diverse student body we serve. People are not going to participate in school nutrition programs, a special medical diet, or any other intervention we may offer if it doesn’t reflect their values and preferences, which are often based on culture. Forcing those we wish to help into a model that was not meant for them is not helpful because they won't participate.
What is a piece of advice you would give a student of color interested in entering the field of dietetics?
Don't lose sight of the goal. Keep going. I know one of my biggest worries was not “fitting in” and feeling like an imposter. I suggest doing anything you can to remind yourself that you deserve to be here. Embracing your uniqueness, and bringing it into your work and education will be what will make you feel empowered and strong. Your strength will then make others feel more welcome to the field, continuing the cycle. Find those mentors who challenge and help you grow. Speak up for your needs. They are valid.