5 Ways to Eat Green at Work

Increasingly, employers are encouraging and rewarding healthy behaviors. At EatingWell, we took two half days this winter for our staff to ski, snowboard or snowshoe together, and of course we eat healthy lunches together every day, prepared by our talented Test Kitchen cooks. But enough about us. Here you can get 5 great ideas from employers all over the country to inspire you to eat healthy and be green at work. Want even more ideas? Read our special report about 5 employers—of all kinds and sizes—that are helping their staffers to eat and live well. Great Idea #1Stock healthy snacks—like the fresh fruit and nuts that managers at Chandler Chicco Agency, a healthcare PR firm in New York City, bring into the office each week. Great Idea #2Ditch the vending machine and replace it with a refrigerator, as NRG Systems in Hinesburg, VT, did to save energy (the machines are notorious guzzlers). They also got rid of a tempting junk-food showcase; now the fridge is stocked with water, 100% fruit juices and other healthy beverages, and employees help themselves. Great Idea #3Send in the farm: once a week, a local farm delivers a CSA (community supported agriculture) “share” of fresh produce to Laloo’s, a goat-milk ice cream company in Petaluma, California. From the bounty, the 15 staffers prepare communal lunches (three days a week). Great Idea #4Call in a healthy caterer instead of ordering pizzas to sustain your team during seminars or late work nights. Employees of Boeing and Starbucks (corporate office) turn to Organic To Go, a quick-service food retailer that also does delivery and corporate catering in Seattle, Los Angeles and Orange County, California. The company’s fresh organic line includes a big selection of wraps, salads and sandwiches—available buffet-style or packed into individual lunch bags (along with apple slices, bottled water and a homemade cookie). Great Idea #5Demand change—like college students across the country who rallied to bring local foods to campus cafeterias and won. When the University of Vermont’s food service, Sodexho, responded to students’ requests for local foods, it shifted $50,000 of purchasing to area farmers in 8 weeks. Your vote matters, so find that comment box at your work café and use it. By Michelle Edelbaum, EatingWell Magazine