According to research on food waste, much of the 160 billion pounds (yes, you read that number right) of food that goes to waste every year is perfectly edible and nutritious. It also has a staggering price tag, costing this country approximately $218 billion per year.
That’s why sustainable food sourcing has become an increasingly important topic in the workplace. From excessive food waste, to an over reliance on nonrenewable resources, the American food supply chain is fraught with damaging practices. Overfishing, inefficient distribution models, and climate vulnerability directly impact each meal we eat.
Sadly, the focus has remained on profit margins - meaning sustainable growing methods, fair labor practices, and access to nutritionally dense foods, are often overlooked when implementing a workplace food program.
If we continue to neglect sustainable food sourcing, we’ll keep damaging the planet and eventually see the foods we love disappear. If your company isn’t focused on providing responsibly sourced meals, it should be. Because outside of helping the environment and actively supporting an issue your team cares about - having great food at work improves employee retention, reduces overall meal costs, and helps grow the local economy.
In this article, we’ll dive into the best sustainable food practices for offices, and show how you can start providing your team with top-notch work lunches that are good for them and the Earth.
Simply put, sustainable food sourcing is the process of acquiring food from local vendors or restaurants and supporting environmentally-friendly farm-to-table practices.
This includes buying foods that are in season, supporting local farms and suppliers, and dining at local restaurants.
In an office environment, this can translate into corporate lunches and events that source food from the local community. When done right, following sustainable practices can transform the working, personal, and environmental relationships your employees have.
Food sustainability affects us all. On the macro level, wasteful food practices destroy the environment and destabilize local industries. On the micro level, it can lead to malnutrition and an increased cost of living.
It’s daunting: dismantling and reconstructing the entire American food chain is impossible for one business. So what can your office really do to make a difference?
A great way to get started is by prioritizing green-friendly food practices in the workplace. Let’s review some of the benefits.
The phrase, “you are what you eat,” rings true here. From our overall mood, to long-term health, the food we eat can deeply affect us. For instance, if you’ve ever had a bad day, a great-tasting meal can turn your mood around. Plus, connecting with those around you over a meal is an opportunity to vent, share, and build community. Good food not only nourishes our bodies, it brings us together.
In a corporate environment, sustainable and healthy foods can create more productive workers with higher output. Studies show that nutritionally dense meals are linked to better brainpower. By providing your team with easy options to take control of their wellbeing, you can directly contribute to improved engagement and reduced stress in their day-to-day lives.
The health and happiness of your workers directly impact your business’s bottom line. Don’t just take it from us.
A&E, a Fooda client, saw the importance of improving the office community. With help from Fooda, they introduced a Popup restaurant program for their employees.
A Producer at the LA Office explains it best:
“Fooda is a game changer when it comes to getting to know the people we work with. It’s the perfect break in the day to walk over and have a conversation with a coworker. We’ve also seen an increase in productivity since we’re spending less time getting lunch and more time in the office”.
Outside of everyday work, great food makes the office a place workers want to be. A&E’s office culture is heightened thanks to low-cost, tasty lunch options they can provide which results in colleagues from different departments connecting when they normally wouldn’t. They also spend less time worrying about what they’ll do for food, and more time collaborating naturally at the lunch table..
Employees will always pay attention to food perks, they’re more sought after than most workplace benefits these days Highlighting local and sustainable food is an effective way to demonstrate your company’s values and brand. Even more, you can introduce nutritional programs that can improve your employee wellness too. This can directly support your business’s growth.
After all, a workplace that directly promotes sustainable practices can be very attractive to potential employees and will help with recruitment and retention too. Not only your staff will feel nourished with sustainable food - your office culture will too.
Many corporate cafeterias struggle with poor inventory rotation, over and under ordering, and limited variety. Repetitive cafeteria meals can get boring, further contributing to food waste. These miscalculations and wastage slowly add up over time, translating into wasted money you can’t afford to burn. higher and higher costs.
Even if your building doesn’t have a cafeteria, there are ways your team can support eco-friendly meal systems and reduce your building’s waste management costs.
Some sustainable food practices include:
Together, these efforts can drastically slash costs and reduce food waste in corporate dining, meaning your company can reinvest in your employee lunch program or better support other company initiatives.
The effects of the best sustainable food practices stretch beyond your building: it improves both your community and the environment.
Naturally, spending money in your local economy, especially at local restaurants, directly helps their profits and the small teams behind them. But depending on their suppliers and food sources, your lunch order can help promote biodiversity and protect natural ecosystems.
Putting your company’s purchasing power towards seasonal ingredients and sustainable farming practices, makes it easier for businesses that share your values to continue their missions.
Ultimately, this process works as a flywheel, incentivizing greener growing and distribution methods. How can your office contribute?
There are small ways to start. For instance, your team can opt to order lunch from one provider, dramatically reducing the carbon footprint that comes with multiple deliveries or pickups.
Tractor Supply Company, a Fooda client since 2015, hosts local restaurants on their campus every single day. Leigh Stevens, a Manager of Team Member Services highlights the environmental impact of a sustainable food supply system:
“The traffic here can be really bad, especially at lunch time. With Fooda, people don’t have to get in their cars. They can enjoy more of their personal time; in the dining area where people take their lunch from Fooda, outside, or wherever they want to go.”
Teams like Tractor Supply Company can work with the peace of mind of knowing that their employees are being provided with great meal options, and that they are directly reducing their environmental impact.
Designing and implementing a sustainable food supply chain for your office is difficult without the right support. This is where a workplace meal provider like Fooda can help!
Now that you understand how a commitment to sustainable food sourcing will benefit your entire office, where do you even start?
There is a lot to consider when creating your own food program. Prioritizing your health and planning team meals is difficult during a busy work day. That’s why Fooda does the heavy lifting.
Our business technology features eliminate the guesswork from implementing a sustainable office food program - meaning you can spend more time enjoying great meals with your colleagues!
Every workplace is different. Your building might have an on-site cafeteria, or no lunch room at all. Handling the meal arrangements: ordering the right amount of food, the type of meals, the timing, can turn into a fulltime job on its own.
Fooda streamlines all aspects of workplace meal options. We can organize full cafeteria takeovers, Popup restaurants in the break room,, or consolidate lunch deliveries from a rotating group of local restaurants. We’re the go-to partner for custom dining options!
For some offices, employee office attendance can be sporadic due to hybrid work models. This can make it difficult to effectively coordinate meals. You run the risk of over ordering, contributing to wasted budget. Or, you can under order, and leave employees hungry and disappointed.
The Fooda model is data-driven, analyzing your team’s habits, then calculating accurate demand models. We’ll help you maximize your budget and reduce the food wastage that comes from misordering.
Meal subsidies are a great incentive for companies to offer. They encourage employees to work on-site and spend more quality time with their colleagues. But it can be difficult to implement and track subsidies without the right system.
Fooda’s subsidy program is directly linked to the main platform, eliminating the need for multiple softwares. Plus, it’s easy for employers to set up and customize. Your admins can adjust subsidies by individual or team, and can adjust the timing and amounts in real time!
Creating meal announcement messages and sending updates can get tedious. While it’s important to keep everyone in the loop, the need to produce emails can turn into increased workload for your staff.
We’ll take care of the communications. Your employees can opt-in to receive in-app or email notifications about future restaurants and events. They can explore upcoming menus and get excited for what’s coming next. Even more, they can access coupons and rewards in the Fooda App.
The Fooda team will guide you through the entire process of building and implementing a sustainable workplace food program! Ready to start planning a meal service of your own? Here’s the ultimate checklist for implementing a workplace food program.
By offering 2000+ restaurant partnerships across the country and streamlining logistics like vendor management, Fooda seamlessly connects teams like yours with local food providers who participate in sustainable practices. Your team can experiment with different cuisines, accommodate various dietary needs, and support local economies.
Enjoy Thai food on Monday, tacos on Tuesday, sandwiches on Wednesday - it’s up to you. Or, treat your staff to a monthly lunch event. At Fooda, we believe variety is the spice of life - and that philosophy goes further than the food we source.
Depending on your team, their needs, your building’s amenities, and your budget, we can help you design and implement the perfect workplace food program. .
Sustainable food sourcing is more than eliminating single-use cutlery and waste reduction - it’s about creating healthier communities, richer local economies, and improving the planet.
Teams who partner with Fooda and offer sustainable food programs see increased productivity, reduced costs, and improved community relationships.
Ready to transform your office’s lunches? Get in contact with Fooda today!
No, not necessarily. Better portion control, reduced food waste, and data-driven ordering models that limit overbuying help offices save money in the long run. Plus, partnering with Fooda can drastically streamline the effort of planning and executing meal events. You can spend more time enjoying great meals with your colleagues!
Absolutely! Even without a cafeteria, small teams can support local restaurants, limit overspending, and benefit from nutritionally dense meals.
We think food has a tremendous impact on team morale. Access to high-quality meals and increased quality time with colleagues strengthen community and overall office culture.
It’s easy with the right support. A partner like Fooda makes the transition smooth. We’ll manage everything from finding sustainable food providers, handle the logistics, and carry out flawless events.
