Healthy
Foods in the Worksite
In November 2002, the Maine
Bureau of Health began making healthy snacks, juices, fruits and vegetables
available in the worksite at low cost for employees. By doing so, the intended outcomes were to
increase the number of employees that choose a healthier item as a snack, increase
fruit and vegetable intake of staff, and the healthy snack area will be self
sustaining.
Environmental Change Initiation
The BOH Wellness Committee
knew they wanted to have healthy options available to employees. The vending machine did not offer much in the
way of healthy options. Working with the
Bureau of Health’s Cardiovascular Health Programs contract Worksite Wellness
Coordinator we decided to offer an “on-your-honor healthy snack area” at low
cost.
Public Health Agency Roles
This initiative occurred at
the Maine State Health Department, called the Bureau of Health (BOH). The BOH Wellness Committee used some of their
Wellness funds as seed money to purchase food, and a basket. We started off purchasing just fruits
(apples, bananas, etc). After a month or
so suggestions began coming in to expand the program and offer more items, it
was quite successful. So we asked one of
the BOH programs to purchase a small refrigerator for us to keep cold items
in. We then used more BOH Wellness
Committee seed money to buy yogurts, cheese sticks, 100% fruit/vegetable
juices, mini bags carrots, snack bags of nuts,
raisins, pretzels, popcorn, low fat breakfast bars, and oatmeal. Also located in the building initially was
the Maine Department of Conservation and Key Bank employees- staff from both
also utilized the healthy snack area in the building.
Major Partners
Partners in this initiative
included the Maine Bureau of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. Medical Care Development (a contractor for
the Cardiovascular Program in BOH) Wellness Coordinator helped us shape the
idea.
Official Support
Dora-Anne Mills (Director of
the BOH), Barbara Leonard (Director of the Division of Community Health, BOH),
Jack Krueger (Director of the Health and Environmental Health Testing Labs,
BOH), and Debra Wigand (Program Manager of the Maine Cardiovascular Health
Program, BOH) supported the initiative.
Results from the Environmental Change
Due to lack of a staff
person, we have not been able to do a formal follow-up survey on any behavioral
changes or fruit and vegetable intake.
But we do know that the healthy snack area is paying for itself, and
just recently (2 months ago) the BOH Wellness Committee decided to raise prices
a little to try to make money to use for future Wellness Initiatives in the
Bureau. So far the snack area has been
making a profit.
We sell on average 20 pieces
of fruit a week, 16 100% fruit/veg. juices a week, 15
yogurts a week, 24 cheese sticks a week, 20 snack bags of nuts/trail mix a
week.
Through verbal
testimony/comments from employees and visitors in the building, they are
appreciative in the availability of healthy alternatives in the building. People have said this has been helpful to
them with their weight loss efforts.
Even staff that initially were resistant or thought it was not a good
idea have turned around and used the healthy snack area, one stating, “I feel
funny using this after I made fun of it, but I love that you have V8 juice and
nuts”.
Lessons Learned
The most important lesson
learned from this effort was that you can make healthy snacks available and
people will choose these items. You do
need to look at your population and do trials on some items to find out what
your population likes and will purchase.
Opposition
There was just a little
opposition. A couple of the Division
Directors in the Bureau of Health were a little concerned about using funds to
do this and was not sure it would be self sustaining, but were willing to let
us pilot it. The only opposition that
occurred a month into it was from one or two people regarding the emails sent
out informing people each week of the basket and its contents, they wanted to
be taken off the email list because they get so many emails. After explaining that the group email used is
the states and that I can not delete people from the list and that the number
of emails would decrease over the next couple of months, the two that
complained said that that was fine.
Submitted By
Anne Rogers, SPF SIG Coordinator
11 State House Station
Marquardt 3rd Floor
207-287-4706