Company Health and Wellness : Workplace Health Promotion Program Ideas: Low Fat Foods Sampling

Often people avoid low fat foods because they think these foods do not taste good. To help inform workers, purchase a variety of low fat foods and put them out in a conference room for an hour or so for a drop-in tasting session. Or, arrange for low-fat potlucks encouraging workers to bring and share their favorite low fat or healthy dishes.

Considerations:
• Make sure the selections actually taste great.
• Give a “fact sheet” with the names and price of the various products to support participants if they want to buy these products from the supermarket.
• Offer other written information on great nutrition for any interested participants to take. Make use of websites and other resources listed in the Resource Section at the end of this guide.
• Give small tasting spoons or wooden ice cream tasters.
• It doesn’t take much of each item to give participants a taste of the food or dish. It is not necessary to buy enough, or bring enough, food to support a meal.
• Set up the tasting room after lunch so participants can go in on their own and sample.
• Watch for overly sugary items…sometimes low fat means elevated sugar – so be sure to check the label.
• Typical purchases for a workplace sampling could include: two boxes of low fat crackers, a package of low fat cheese, a box of low fat cookies, two or three low fat spreads such as hummus, low fat cream cheese, a package of honey nut or other flavored rice crackers, and one or two other low fat items.
• Position signs on the table politely reminding participants that the idea is to sample, not have a meal.
• Offer a beverage such as a new kind of fruit juice or herbal tea.