Carproof kicked off its annual nutrition awareness campaign last week, beginning with the first in a series of live healthy cooking demos.
The theme of nutrition is one of four that will be highlighted throughout the year, which are organized by the company’s five-year-old health and wellness committee.
“We have an established budget per year and a committee that allocates it throughout the year,” says Heather Coy-Robinson, HR manager at Carproof. “We survey employees at least twice each year to identify their areas of interest. We group the year’s programming into different quarterly themes, which are derived from these survey results.”
Read: How to engage employees with mindful wellness
On Feb. 9, the organization’s health and wellness committee hosted its first live healthy cooking demo at the head office’s kitchen. Featuring healthier alternatives for meals and snacks, this one was a demonstration by Coy-Robinson on making cauliflower pizza.
“The aim is to show that it’s easy to eat healthy,” she says. “It might take a bit more planning, but it’s not any more difficult than cooking non-healthy food.”
Read: Communication and customization key to health and wellness programs
This quarter’s focus on nutrition also includes a lunch-and-learn session with a dietitian on Feb. 18. The dietitian will also come in later in the month for one-on-one, 30-minute subsidized consultations that staff can sign up for.
“We’re paying for 90% of the cost, but employees still have to pay 10%,” says Coy-Robinson, adding that employees who work remotely will be informed of dietitians and nutritionists in their local areas and will be able to access the same deal as employees at the company’s head office.
Read: EY highlights well-being benefits in January campaign
In March, Carproof will offers its annual buddy program, where employees embark on their own nutrition challenge and pair off with an accountability partner to keep them on track. “It might be giving up sugar, for instance,” says Coy-Robinson. “On a weekly basis, we would touch base and see how the challenge is going.”
Employees who are adhering to their challenge will receive points and those with the highest number of points at the end of the month will be entered into a draw. “The wellness committee’s budget would go towards gift cards or whatever we’re awarding to people,” says Coy-Robinson.
“We have various events and information sessions sprinkled out throughout the quarter because the more educated people are, the better choices they are going to make and the more buy-in they will have to the different programs we launch.”