Healthy Alternatives To Traditional Office Snacks

So it’s back to the office, at least for some people some of the time. It might take a while for businesses to figure out what their “new normal” looks like. Hopefully, it’ll look a lot healthier than the “old normal”. As an employer, you can help that to happen - and it’s very much in your best interests to do so.

Stop stocking up on junk food

Before the pandemic, a lot of businesses, especially offices, effectively encouraged their staff to eat junk food. Companies would often use “treat” food as prizes, “thank yous” and other gifts. Line managers would buy it as “motivation” for their team.

You can, of course, say that people didn’t have to eat it. That’s true. It is, however, a whole lot easier to avoid temptation at a distance than when it’s staring you in the face. Swap these out for healthy (and tasty) snacks and encourage all line managers to choose healthy options when buying for their team.

Make it easy to buy healthy food

One of the golden rules of influence is to make it easier for people to do what you want them to do than to do what you don’t want them to do. This means you want to keep the healthy food accessible and affordable while making the unhealthy food harder to access and more expensive.

Emma Preece, General Manager at workplace refreshment specialists; R+R Hub says "If space is tight, you can do this with vending machines. It is, however, a real perk if you can create one place which acts as a “micro-market” and relaxation area. This will encourage employees to take proper food breaks (especially at lunchtime) and to use these breaks to relax and socialize."

It's also been suggested that having a dedicated space for food and dining can improve staff relationships, productivity and it may even guide more people into making better decisions about food if they see other people making better decisions.

Offer functional kitchen facilities

Even when food is available on-site, some employees will probably still prefer to bring their own. This could be for reasons of cost because they have particular dietary requirements or just because they enjoy being in control. They will very much appreciate functional kitchen facilities.

In an office environment, “functional kitchen facilities” means storage space (including fridge space), heating facilities and washing facilities. These facilities do not, however, necessarily have to be in the same place.

For example, you might want to consider putting fridges, even small ones, in work areas. This can help to reduce instances of personal food disappearing from communal fridges. Likewise, once plates are empty, it shouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience to walk a short distance to wash them. This can help to free up space in the actual heating area.

Provide alternatives to caffeine

Remember that hydration is just as important as nourishment. In the real world, most employees are going to want some kind of caffeine fix at least once in their day. This can have its benefits. Like most foods (and drinks), however, caffeine is best enjoyed in moderation.

As a minimum, you should have a plentiful supply of fresh water. Offering a carbonator can help encourage staff to make use of it in preference to less healthy options. Try to offer decaffeinated hot drinks as well as regular ones. Likewise, make sure any vending machines and micro-markets also stock healthy drinks (hot and cold).

This is also ideal when it comes to a change of seasons. Sure there's still a lot of people who would still buy their morning coffee during a heatwave but there's also a lot of people who may prefer something cool and refreshing when temperatures at work start to rise.

If you can create a canteen space that has both options, your staff can stay hydrated but also enjoy their morning coffee or tea when it suits them. Plus if you don't already purchase fresh water for the office through a water cooler, then a cold drink vending machine is a great alternative.