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Influencing eating habits at work

On October 6th, employees, restaurant managers and the general public will gather for the launch of FOOD, the first European programme promoting balanced nutrition among employees and restaurant managers and chefs.

The FOOD Roadshow is stopping in six European cities all along October and will be followed by concrete actions geared at employees and restaurant managers until end 2010 with the support of the programme's 21 partners.

The FOOD programme is a public-private consortium made up of six European countries, aimed at promoting access to healthy food choices by adapting both what restaurants serve (the offer) and what employees want (the demand). In the last 10 months, FOOD experts have observed and analyzed the needs and expectations of these two groups using surveys designed by CIRIHA(2) and the Research Center of Institut Paul Bocuse and distributed to 52,000 employees and 5,000 restaurant managers in Europe.

Survey highlights:
How do employees and chefs view healthy eating?

• 45% of employees say they have never heard of a programme on balanced nutrition; 70% however would like more information.
• A majority of respondents said that although the nutritional information in restaurants is useful, it is unclear and difficult to understand.
• 50% of employees believe that receiving an e-mail that lists restaurants near their place of work and contains nutritional information would be the best way to raise awareness on healthy eating.
• Among chefs surveyed, 44% say demand for healthy meals is growing; 90% believe they have a role to play in their clients' health.
• While half of the chefs surveyed have heard of healthy eating initiatives, they are unaware of their source. Among them, 66% apply some of the recommendations.
• A majority of chefs are limited in what they can do (not enough time or financial resources), but 79% support the idea of setting up a programme in their establishment.
• A large number of chefs do not associate balanced nutrition with the pleasure aspect of eating.

The time has come to provide companies and restaurants with the first communication tools available to apply the recommendations of programme experts.

Tools for restaurant managers and employees/consumers

FOOD has set ambitious goals for the next two years: to increase awareness through information, educate through training and build effective company policies in coordination with human resources directors, trade unions and company medical services, and/or by creating external partnerships.
A comprehensive website with a discussion forum is now available at (www.food-programme.eu), along with an e-learning DVD produced with European chefs and a guidebook for European restaurant professionals.

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• Influencing eatInfluencing eating habits at work: October 2009 launch of the European FOOD Programme (PDF 29 KB)
• Assessment of needs and expectations based on FOOD
  Programme survey results (PDF 37 KB)