Health Insurance Daily

Employers Use Incentives To Help Improve Nutrition In The Workplace

Determined to combat obesity, drive down health-care costs and boost their bottom lines, some companies have turned to creative methods of steering employees toward more healthful eating options.

At Stamford, Conn.-based Pitney Bowes' cafeterias, the message is clear.

A veggie wrap stuffed with portobello mushrooms, shredded carrots and lettuce costs $2.49. Employees hankering for chicken fingers pay $3.77; those craving pizza shell out $4.48.

That message follows snackers to the vending machines, where apples cost 65 cents and pop-tarts cost 90 cents. Machines sell fried chips for 75 cents, but baked ones for 50 cents.

"This is absolutely deliberately planned,'' said Pitney Bowes spokesman Matt Broder, who said the company's price incentives emerged gradually during the past several years. "We're really trying to steer employees toward healthier food choices.''

This article can be read in its entirety at Nutrition in the Workplace.

posted by Mike @ 7:42 AM