Healthy Eating Options

Promote healthy eating options at your small business by offering appealing, low-cost, healthful food options, such as fruits and vegetables, juices, and low-fat dairy products in vending machines, snack bars, break rooms, and/or cafeterias. Offering appealing, low-cost, healthful food options at the worksite is one way to promote healthful eating to employees. Vending machines are a quick and convenient way for employees to purchase these types of food. If cafeterias or snack bars are not available, vending machines may be the only option for employees to purchase foods and beverages.

Small Biz Action Steps

• Step 1: Identify employee representative (s) to assess the need and interest in changing vending machine offerings.

• Step 2: Conduct a vending machine inventory asking employees to determine their interest in having healthful foods available in machines.  Identify preferences for vending machine items such as fruits, vegetables, milk, water, energy bars, pretzels, etc.

• Step 3: Identify worksite staff that deal with vending companies. Identify the date of the vending machine contract renewal and schedule your plans toinitiate changes with vending machine companies several months in advance of this renewal date.

• Step 4: Meet with a vendor representative to:
  - Explain the 5 A Day campaign (i.e. focus on environmental changes work to facilitate dietary change); share the program guidelines.
  - Share the results of the survey that support employees. desire for healthful food options with the vendor.
  - Provide the vending company with suggestions for healthful food choices and determine which are appropriate to include.
  - Seek permission from the vendor to label fruit and vegetable products with nutrition information on the vending machine.
  - Explore opportunities for reducing the cost of healthful food options.

Get Started Today!

You CAN control healthcare costs for you and your employees with practical and affordable wellness tools and strategies that will ultimately help them create a lifetime of healthy habits. For more information on any our small business wellness programs or services, Contact Us today and find out we can help.

Please be aware that any information on this site is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.