Fit Business Award
2004/05 Winners
Dole Food Company
(More than 1,000 employees)
Dole, located in Westlake Village, is the world’s largest fruit and vegetable company, taking the lead in promoting proper nutrition and physical activity for its employees. The company truly lives the wellness message from the top: David Murdock, chairman and CEO, created the Dole Nutrition Institute, which in addition to promoting nutrition education and research, has pioneered workplace wellness by instituting a variety of programs for Dole employees.
Employees can take free fitness classes, yoga or Pilates—or work out in the company’s state-of-the-art fitness facility.
Dole has created a healthy food and fitness environment that encourages employees to make healthier choices. Dole’s “Model Cafeteria” has eliminated all saturated fat in most foods, sugar sodas, unhealthy food, and expanded offerings of fish entrees, vegetarian and vegan selections, and healthy desserts. In addition, free fruit and vegetable snacks are available to employees in the morning and afternoon.
What’s more, the Dole Nutrition Institute produces a bi-weekly electronic newsletter containing the latest nutrition research, public policy updates, recipes, and diet and fitness advice. As a leader in nutrition education, Dole strives to provide a blueprint for corporations, communities, and government offices to increase productivity, contain healthcare costs, and improve the lives of workers, members and citizens.
USAA
(300-999 employees)
USAA is a diversified financial services company known for its financial strength, outstanding service, and competitive products. Founded in 1922 to serve members of the military and their families, USAA provides insurance, banking, investments, and financial planning to more than five million members. USAA’s office in Sacramento employs approximately 920 people.
USAA strives to provide a healthy and happy environment for their employees. The company provides a Weight Watchers at Work program, massage therapy, ergonomic consultations, nursing mothers rooms, annual on-site health screenings, on-site clinic staffed by nurses, discounted pedometers, and a health education Web site with information and tools to help employees develop a healthy lifestyle.
Rebates on membership fees are provided for employees who use the on-site fitness center. Employees and their families can also be reimbursed for memberships at off-site fitness centers. Prizes are available for employees who participate in the company-sponsored walking program.
USAA provides its employees with balanced, healthy food choices at on-site cafeterias, vending machines, and catered events. Food items at the cafeteria are accompanied by nutrition information to encourage healthy choices. This information is provided through nutrition cards employees can pick up while standing in line and nutrition labels that are displayed alongside each food item.
USAA also offers special incentives each month to encourage the purchase of healthy food items. For example, fruits and vegetables are given at a discounted price, and lower-calorie drink items are provided for less than their higher-calorie counterparts. Employees receive an additional $300 in preventive care benefits from the health care plan to assist in medical screening or any other wellness-related service.
Monterey County Health Department
(300-999 employees)
The Monterey County Health Department, located in Salinas, is an organization charged with protecting and improving the health of 400,000 residents. The Health Department works to serve as a healthy role model to the linguistically and culturally diverse populations of Monterey County.
Monterey County has an employee wellness program that provides employees with a bank of 12 release hours each fiscal year to attend wellness workshops and activities at no cost. The employee wellness program includes physical activity campaigns; nutrition, stress reduction, and medical self-efficacy workshops; a proactive safe body mechanics ergonomic program; and a healthy resource lending library.
The “Get Movin” program encourages employees to use break time to walk, stretch, and move. Walking routes have been mapped, timed, and distributed so employees know exactly the distances they are walking. Twice weekly, employees are invited to attend 15-minute yoga stretch break sessions.
The policies and procedures put into place address such issues as flexible work schedules, breastfeeding, ergonomic training, smoking cessation, and physical activity.
Since its inception, the Monterey County Health Department has seen a positive outcome for its healthy lifestyle programs. It has seen reduced workers’ compensation injury rates, and increased employee participation in programs such as the Digi-Walk Along Pedometer campaign, the Exercise Challenge Campaign and the Healthtrac health risk assessment program. The Health Department has a very visible presence promoting healthy lifestyle practices at community health fairs and events, as well as working with the Nutrition and Fitness Collaborative of the Central Coast to assess the health needs of residents in nearby counties. As a result of the Health Department’s efforts, they have created a positive, health-conscious work environment and an equally positive health resource for the community.
Mammoth Hospital
(100-299 employees)
Mammoth Hospital is a modern, 15-bed facility that is located in Mammoth Lakes. It is designated by the federal government as a critical access hospital, with hospital-based outpatient clinics and two off-site clinics, which offer an array of primary-care services. Mammoth Hospital is the only hospital located in Mono County, California serving the health care needs of almost 13,000 permanent residents.
Mammoth Hospital has created a Wellness Challenge for employees to improve their personal health. The wellness program consists of mandatory and optional health criteria that employees can complete over the course of a year. They are rewarded by completing different levels of the criteria.
The mandatory criteria includes: attending the Wellness Challenge orientation; completing a health survey, blood pressure screening, cholesterol screening, nutrition class, and exercise class; completing at least one personal yearly goal; and wearing a seat belt every time one is in a car. Those employees who complete the first five mandatory criteria are eligible for a 50 percent discount at a local gym.
A sampling of the optional criteria includes: joining a smoking cessation group, joining a weight loss program, keeping a physical activity log, joining a walk/jog club, attending four hours of wellness classes, and turning in a monthly goal. The company provides monetary incentives to employees who complete their mandatory and optional criteria.
Mammoth Hospital also provides an environment for healthy eating at the worksite. There are healthy choices in vending machines and a cafeteria with a calendar of daily menu items that are healthy. The company uses three symbols to help their employees make healthy choices in the cafeteria. A heart symbol is for healthy heart low-calorie meal days, the stop sign symbol signifies that the meal may be high in fat, and the triangle symbol tells employees to watch their portion sizes and side dish options.
Community Resource Project, Inc
(26 to 99 employees)
Community Resource Project (CRP) is a non-profit, community-based organization in Sacramento that seeks to improve the life and education opportunities for people in need through housing, health, and education. CRP helps to alleviate the struggles of families with limited incomes by providing services that assist families to move from dependency to self-sufficiency.
CRP has a “walk the talk” program, and since its inception, staff have been using pedometers in order to reach the recommended goal of 10,000 steps a day. CRP has lengthened its “break” policy to allow longer time for walking in the mornings. In addition, all employees take walking breaks during the middle of the day to increase physical activity.
CRP provides health and nutrition information to staff in a variety of ways, including monthly newsletters, e-mail updates, and during meetings. On-site health clinics provide immunizations and well-baby visits for families without insurance or who receive Medi-Cal.
In addition to regularly addressing nutrition, wellness, physical activity, and other health-related topics at Agency meetings, each CRP program addresses these topics and issues with staff. Healthy snack options are available at meetings, physical activity breaks are added during meetings, and wellness topics focusing on nutrition and physical activity are presented regularly to all staff. CRP has noticed that their "[employee] morale in general has improved because people get outside."
NutriFit, LLC
(25 employees or fewer)
NutriFit, also a winner of last year’s Fit Business Award, is a Los Angeles-based food service company that provides nutrition and culinary education programs to individuals and corporations in the Los Angeles and Orange County communities to help people reach healthy lifestyle goals through nutritious eating.
Additionally, NutriFit developed a nutrition management software program that helps users incorporate individual needs, tastes, and health factors into the meal planning process.
With a diverse but primarily Latino workforce, NutriFit provides its employees with Spanish-language nutrition and health information that they can take back to their families. In addition, the healthy food they make for clients is available to their on-site staff.
The company provides employees access to local gyms, and partners with fitness facilities to bring their services on-site for clients who need physical fitness information or education. Office staff can also take extended lunch hours in order to fit physical activity into their day.
NutriFit provides employees with smoking cessation programs, one free healthy meal a day prepared on-site, discounted meal plans, free on-site metabolic testing, free access to on-site nutritionists, discounts on athletic shoes, Dynabands, stress management education, and sponsors company athletic teams.
In addition to all the services NutriFit provides to its employees, the company sponsors and encourages employees to volunteer in the community and participate in events such as the American Heart Walks and the AIDS Walk.
