It’s well-documented that wellness is essential for happy and engaged employees. Wellness events are a great way to get the ball rolling on that conversation. You have a platform to give employees company resources for exercise, talk about insurance benefits in-depth, and bring in experts to discuss the best way to change your day-to-day lifestyle to have a long, healthy life.
Food is one of the most important parts of wellness education. Only 1 in 10 adults get enough fruits and vegetables in their diet, according to a study done by the CDC. At your next wellness event, you can implement catering that has foods rich in nutrients and flavor. Many people don’t even know where to begin when it comes to healthy eating, and healthy catering can be a great way to get their foot in the door. We’re going to go over the benefits of implementing healthy eating into your catering options and how to maximize your wellness events.
How Healthy Catering Creates Improved Wellness
Each aspect of wellness ties into the other. Experts say the 4 pillars of wellness are exercise, healthy eating, relaxation, and sleep. If you exercise regularly, it can lead to greater relaxation and better sleep. If you eat properly, it can help make your exercise more productive and sustainable, and so on.
According to another CDC study, “US students receive less than 8 hours of required nutrition education each school year, which is far below the 40–50 hours that are needed to affect behavior change.” This means many Americans grow up without food literacy, which is the ability to understand food and have a positive relationship with it. Understanding food labels, incorporating important nutrients into your diet, and using food to power your body properly are all examples of how food literacy affects the average person.
Starting your staff on a wellness journey can help bridge a gap many Americans have in their ability to stay healthy. They’ll only learn if you show them how, so implementing healthy catering options only makes sense when you’re trying to teach people how to eat better.
The Ripple Effect of Wellness for Your Business
Wellness can impact your business’s ability to operate in a few different ways. If your staff is what keeps your company running smoothly, properly caring for them will continue that pace. Employees can have a positive association with your company just for caring about their health, so it’s important to take their wellness seriously.
Company Culture
Showing employees you care about them by providing them with healthy meals reinforces that their well-being is a priority. You can reinforce your company culture by simply backing up what you insist your company culture is. It’s palpable if you champion staff wellness but don’t go through the effort to show that to your employees, sometimes to the detriment of your company. Individuals dissatisfied with their company’s culture have a 24% higher likelihood of resigning, according to a study. That could affect future prospects too, and isn’t worth the risk.
Engagement
Employee engagement is affected by many factors, but one of the more obvious reasons could be your staff just isn’t getting enough nutrition. Especially for busier companies, skipping meals can become a common practice among staff. A recent study observed that an estimated 17% to 30% of US adults do not eat breakfast. Without adequate education, many people in the workforce don’t know how skipping a meal affects our brain’s ability to function. We become more irritable and less happy when we feel hungry. People even think that skipping meals can be good for weight loss when it can do the opposite.
Providing proper food education for your staff with a wellness event that includes appealing healthy foods is a great way to start your company’s wellness program. You can even provide regular healthy company lunches as well to supplement.
Improved Productivity
Food can positively or negatively impact your ability to be productive. A quote from nutritioned.org says “Maintaining consistent glucose (energy) levels prevent spikes and drops in blood sugar, which are bad for the brain and, thus, bad for productivity.” It goes on to talk about how your energy levels are affected by the foods you eat. For example, if you eat a protein rich meal as opposed to a meal that’s nothing but sugar, the protein rich meal will be more sustainable, thus giving you more consistent energy. Food education can help your staff understand how food affects their minds at work, and they might have low energy because they aren’t getting proper nutrients.
Start Your Company Wellness Journey with Healthy Catering
If you’re ready to start your wellness journey, Zerocater gives you a selection of healthy catering options perfect for your next event. You can filter what types of food you’re looking for easily, and if your event catering becomes a hit, you can switch to regular catering options as well. If your staff likes or doesn’t like a catered meal, we’ll keep track of that via our AI. Zerocater learns more about your dietary preferences and successful catered events and will give you new recommendations based on those choices.
No matter the size of your event, your company, or your budget, we can work with you to give you and your staff an unforgettable experience. If you’re ready to see what Zerocater can do for you, click “Get Pricing” and send us a message about yourself and what you’re looking for. We look forward to hearing from you!
