Healthy Eating at Work

Most Canadian adults spend at least 60 per cent of their waking hours at work and they have at least one meal there during the day. Because of this, Canada’s food guide recommends that workplaces promote healthy eating by offering and selling a variety of healthy foods and beverages.

Promoting healthy eating and supporting employees to make better choices is not just good for them, it is good for your business, too. When employees eat a variety of healthy foods, they feel better, have increased energy and are more productive.

It's good for business

Promoting healthy eating and supporting employees to make better choices is not just good for them, it is good for your business, too. When employees eat healthy meals, they feel better, have increased energy and are more productive.

A nutrition-related chronic disease can increase workplace costs in these ways:

  • absenteeism
  • reduced productivity
  • higher rates of injury
  • disability and early retirement
  • increased insurance premiums
  • prescription drug costs
  • medical and workers compensation costs
  • higher risk of vehicle collisions

Overall, workplace financial losses range from as low as a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per affected employee yearly.

How to support employees

To have the greatest impact on the wellness of your employees and company, you will need to consider the following health promotion approaches in your planning.

Raising awareness 

Awareness-raising activities provide information to employees about the benefits of making healthy eating choices through:

  • Bulletin boards and posters
  • Emails and newsletters articles (check UnlockFood.ca for topics)
  • Displays and health fairs
  • Health screening and risk assessments
  • Pamphlets and brochures
  • Mobile health technology and apps
  • Point of decision information
Building skills 

Skill-building activities help teach employee about growing, selecting and preparing healthy food. This can be accomplished through:

  • Presentations and workshops with possible topics such as nutrition label reading, shopping, planning menus, food preparation and gardening, etc.
  • Distribution of self-screening tools (e.g. questionnaires, checklists)
  • Events and health fairs
  • Mobile health technology and apps that allow people to set goals for themselves
  • Challenges and contests to promote healthy behaviours (e.g. fruit and veggie challenge)
Creating supportive environments 

Supportive environments strengthen and improve employees' healthy practices and make it easier for them to make healthy choices. Examples of these are:

  • Kitchenettes with refrigerators and microwaves to prepare nutritious lunches and snacks
  • Clean eating areas for meals and snacks
  • Healthy foods to purchase in cafeterias and at vending machines
  • Access to Registered Dietitian counselling services
  • Time allowance for employees to attend information sessions about healthy eating
  • Workplace gardens where employees can grow their own vegetables and fruit
  • Cooking clubs 

Creating healthy workplace policies 

Policies improve and sustain healthy practices by clarifying roles and expectations between employers and employees. They show the value a business places on the health and well-being of its employees.

Workplace healthy eating policies can:

  • Formally recognize and allow participation in healthy eating programs
  • Support changes to the physical environment that encourage healthy food choices
  • Provide instruction and information on accessing nutrition counselling services
  • Create a culture for healthy eating during the workday

Resources and toolkits

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