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Providing healthier meals for a thriving workforce: A practical guide for businesses
One in three people globally suffers from at least one type of malnutrition. Malnutrition brings significant losses in productivity and potential, and poses challenges to employers in all settings. 58% of the world’s population will spend one third of their time at work during their adult life, so employers have an opportunity to help tackle malnutrition. Healthier diets can bring benefits such as improved productivity, reduced absenteeism and employee loyalty and engagement – and healthy food at work is one way to contribute to healthier diets.
The Global Alliance for Nutrition, Eat Well Global and the SUN Business Network have developed a Nutrition at Work handbook to support employers and businesses looking to provide healthy meals and snacks to their employees. The Nutrition at Work handbook provides step-by-step guidance to help employers get started.
The handbook contains the following sections:
- Section 1: The Business Case – why provide healthy meals and snacks at work?
Useful for: Managers and HR professionals
- Section 2: Building a Healthy Meal
Useful for: Chefs, cooks and caterers
- Section 3: Building a Healthy Snack
Useful for: Chefs, cooks and caterers
- Section 4: Programme Management: how to design and implement a workforce nutrition programme.
Useful for: Managers and HR professionals
Take action
Get a free copy of the handbook. Please fill in your details below to download a free copy of the Nutrition at Work handbook or the sections that are relevant to you.
Get in touch. If you have any questions, or just want to share your experience with us, please reach out to GAIN’s Workforce Nutrition team at workforcenutrition@gainhealth.org or get in touch with the SUN Business Network coordinator in your country.
The handbook is a practical guide for businesses looking to provide healthy meals and snacks to their employees, including in resource-constrained settings. Whether you are just getting started, or seek to improve upon current food provision, the handbook will guide you in the right direction. Learn more about the compelling business case for workforce nutrition (Section 1) or get support in providing healthy meals and snacks (Section 2 and 3) and programme management (Section 4).
The handbook is relevant for any organisation that offers a snack or single-meal choice to employees during the workday, this includes non-profits, civil society, academic or government organisations. It also provides guidance for employers that do not currently offer food to employees but are interested in taking the first steps towards a workforce nutrition programme. The handbook is not intended for offices or other workplaces that host a paid canteen with multiple food choices.
Watch this space for webinars and additional resources. If you have any questions, or just want to share your experience with us, please reach out to GAIN’s Workforce Nutrition team at workforcenutrition@gainhealth.org or get in touch with the SUN Business Network coordinator in your country.
Providing healthy food at work is one of the four elements of a comprehensive workforce nutrition programme. Nutrition education, breastfeeding support and nutrition-focused health checks are other programme elements businesses may consider for a healthy workforce. Learn more about the evidence for these programme areas here.
The handbook was developed by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Eat Well Global and the SUN Business Network to enable companies and employers in resource-constrained settings to start their own workforce nutrition programme.
