Social ChallengeImprove Eating Behaviours in the Workplace

CollaboratorsNHS Norfolk, Breckland District Council, local businesses

Before Breckland District Council workers:
Ate low levels of fruit and vegetables in the workplace
41% ate lunch at their workstation everyday

ApproachUscreates designed engaging tasks, which were distributed amongst the workforce. These tasks helped Uscreates designers understand the culture of the workplace and involved employees in the initiative from the outset.
A Co-design event brought together representatives from Breckland Council, dieticians, chefs, health professionals and designs to innovate methods to improve eating behaviours.
5 interventions were introduced including; an honesty fruit bowl system, a visiting chef, a health lunch pack delivery service, health and nutrition MOTs and the redesign of the staff room.

Methods: Insight Toolkits, In-depth Interviews, Co-design Workshop, Pre-testing

Change and Success-23 % of employees rated their lunch as healthier one year on
-Those who eat lunch at their desk every day has dropped from 41% to 28.8%
-70% of action points for change set by employees have been achieved
-Highly Commended at the Health Service Journal Awards 2008

Find out more:
Visit the Experience Food at Work project blog
Read the National Social Marketing Centre case study
Watch a highlight film of the co-design event on Youtube
See more project photos on Flickr