Employee Wellness Newsletter : Workplace Health Promotion Program Ideas: Nutrition

employees generally enjoy sharing nutritional tips and trying new foods. Offer a “nutrition cook-off” and/or healthy potlucks.
• Nutrition cook-off. Teams of staff members set a menu in advance and bring in prepared foods for an official competition. A nutritionist from the health department or local hospital or neighborhood serves as the judge. Dishes and foods are evaluated based on both health considerations and taste. Following the event, a cookbook of the teams’ recipes can be created and distributed to the entire employee.
• Cholesterol Control or “Down Under” Club. People with cholesterol over 200 mg. are invited to voluntarily participate. The invitation needs to be extended to all staff members as the Wellness Team won’t have (nor should have) access to individual health data. Offer a variety of services to support  in decreasing cardiac risks. Gordian Health Solutions offers blood lipid management health programs for staff members qualifying by cholesterol score. If an employee gets cholesterol numbers below 200 in six months, offer an incentive such as a prize to continue progress. Continue to supply data and reminders for continued blood lipid control.
• Label reading contest. Designate a particular food or food category. Employees must learn the designated products with the lowest/highest fat content in the grocery store. Give coupons or other prizes for predetermined number of winners or participants. Or, offer samples of healthier food choices based on label information. Show how these compare to less healthy choices. Display results of the contest in the employee break room or at an employee brown bag event.

Other Workplace Wellness Program Nutrition Recommendations:

• Give freshly brewed decaffeinated coffee and herbal tea.
• Offer a healthy food “bake-off’ once a year.
• Offer sugar and salt substitutes in the lunchroom.
• At gatherings, replace sweet rolls and donuts with bran muffins, wholewheat bagels, or fresh fruit. Consider offering other decaffeinated coffee and herbal teas plus no-sugar fruit juices.
• Serve no cost popcorn in the break area.
• Create a cookbook featuring healthy recipes contributed by workers.
• Fruit or veggie of the week (or month). Display an “exotic” fruit or vegetable in your lunchroom and see if coworkers know what it is. Staff Members can put their name and the name of the item on an index card. These can be used to conduct a prize drawing at the end of the week from the cards with the correct answer. To add fun, promote people to put down funny answers when in doubt of the real name of the item. Read some of those names during the prize drawing, and support a prize for the most creative name. Divide the fruit or vegetable at the drawing and let those interested taste it. Be sure it can be eaten raw. “Unusual” meal items like star fruit are now readily available in grocery stores work well for this activity as many people have not tried these types of produce.