Resolutions usually include personal goals, such as healthy eating, getting more exercise or reducing stress. As a worksite, organizations can set their own intentions for the year to support wellness and help employees reach their goals. The Live Well @ Work program offers a wide variety of strategies and tools to help employers create healthy workplace environments to improve the health and well-being of employees throughout San Diego County. Live Well @ Work is a project of the County of San Diego Public Health Services and is implemented by University of California, San Diego Center for Community Health.

As adults spend half of their waking hours in the workplace, worksites are an optimal setting to promote healthy lifestyles. Oftentimes food and beverages served at meetings are high in sodium, fat, and added sugars, and lack fresh fruits and vegetables. Additionally, meetings typically require employees to remain sedentary for large amounts of time, which contributes to reduced physical activity throughout the workday. Promoting healthy meetings is an opportunity for employers to create a culture of health in the workplace.

In 2017, the Live Well @ Work program collaborated with Northgate Gonzalez Markets to help them adopt a companywide Healthy Meeting Policy and improve the healthy food environment for over 4,000 employees in 41 Southern California stores.

Northgate has been dedicated to employee wellness since 2005; they have implemented numerous health improvement strategies in their San Diego County locations including a lactation accommodation policy, pre-shift stretching, healthy checkout lane snack and beverage options, and healthy meal options offered in their prepared food kitchen, Healthy Cocina. All of these initiatives have been expanded and replicated in Northgate’s 41 Southern California store locations that reach more than 4,000 employees.

Northgate hosts numerous meetings and celebrations for employees each month and knew they could also benefit from a Healthy Meeting Policy to help employers improve their worksite wellness efforts. The Healthy Meeting Policy incorporates best practices and is tailored to fit the needs of the employees and resonate with the culture of the organization.  

The Healthy Meeting Policy not only supports healthy food and beverages at meetings, but it also incorporates sustainability, tobacco cessation, lactation accommodation, and physical activity.

“The Northgate Store Team Leaders and Human Resources staff were very receptive to the Healthy Meeting Policy as yet another way they can support and enrich the lives of associates," said Ms. Gonzalez, Northgate’s Employee Wellness Program Supervisor. “They were especially thankful at the clarity and simplicity of the policy as well as the clear and helpful tips on how to execute the policy successfully.”

Live Well @ Work is one of many Live Well San Diego initiatives driving improvements that support the County’s vision of a region that is Building Better Health, Living Safely, and Thriving. The County’s Chronic Disease and Health Equity Unit provides resources and technical assistance for organizations to support wellness. For more information, contact Ches Blevins.