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In the township of Shelby, Michigan, a local intern helped to create a way to encourage health among employees through healthier vending.
In the summer of 2016, township’s Wellness Committee worked with Shelby Township Supervisor’s office intern Kayla Gahlau, to create healthier vending and help increase funds for the employee wellness program.
“We initially created this project because we believed that the healthy vending project would be another way to improve the overall quality of life in Shelby Township,” Gahlau told The Source.
After proposing the idea of the healthier food options for the employee vending to Deputy Supervisor Brad Bates, they agreed that the project could not only help employees overall wellness but also help Gahlau develop in her health administration major.
Gahlau worked with Warren-based Variety Food Services to offer healthier vending options in all Shelby Townships municipal buildings, and to create better wellness for employees.
A portion of the funds from the purchases of the vending machines will also go towards increasing health of employees by being donated to the employee wellness program.
The new vending machines will still have unhealthy options available, to keep choice a factor for employees, but all vending as required by law have been labeled with nutritional information and calories.
In an area where poverty is high, creating a healthier food and beverage environment makes it easier for consumers to see the healthier choice as the easy choice and is a large step in creating a healthier work environment. Having partnerships with vending companies that look forward to ways to promote their services with healthier products is a win-win for consumers and business.
“By improving employee wellness, I believe that this will ultimately lead to an increase in the overall satisfaction of our community,” Gahlau told local news.
By The Numbers
1
Supermarket
for every Latino neighborhood, compared to 3 for every non-Latino neighborhood
