When lunchtime rolls around on a work day, it’s often easy to drive to the nearest fast food restaurant or even grab something from the vending machine, but employees from Facilities Operations and Development’s Design and Construction (FDC) group are offering a healthy alternative through a new lunch program.
It’s called the Healthy Lunch Club, providing a welcome, nutritious variety to your lunch menus and a chance to connect socially.
Alex Cramer, the club’s founder, is an FDC Contracts Administrator and a Buckeye Wellness Innovator. They promote university-wide wellness initiatives. A couple months ago, Cramer met with A&P leaders about her idea in an effort to start the club.
Alex then met with Paul Sherwood, assistant vice president of Design and Construction, to brainstorm further about the initiative.
“We consistently encourage our staff to adopt healthy lifestyles but often only provide web addresses for them to find additional information and take the initiative,” Sherwood said.
“When I was approached about the Healthy Lunch Club idea, it seemed like a great way for our group to reinforce what we’ve been saying in a more tangible way. Any initiative that contributes to the physical and mental well-being of our staff is worth investing our time and energy.”
The group met for the first time a week ago at Alchemy, a health food restaurant in Grandview. Eight people enjoyed lunch and good conversation.
“Everyone seemed excited,” Cramer said. “They had lots of questions about the food and the restaurant.”
The goals of the club are based on two of the Nine Dimensions of Wellness. The first is physical wellness.
“Maintaining a healthy diet is a big thing,” Cramer said. “We have a big, open kitchen in our office, and it’s so easy to drop off treats or other food there, but having different options is important.”
The second of the nine dimensions of wellness is social wellness, and Cramer credits her peers for helping each other stay committed to a healthy lifestyle. Still, for Cramer, healthy eating is a personal choice.
“Healthy eating is part of my own wellness journey,” she said. “Having options that are local and affordable are really vital to me, and I just wanted to share these places with other people, too.”
The Healthy Lunch Club is open to all FOD staff. If you’re interested in being a part of the group or in starting your own, contact your wellness innovator for information.
Note: This article was originally published April 23, 2019.