COVID-19 has had an impact on everything including Phoenix individuals’ relationship with food. While many of the changes can be seen anecdotally, a recent study by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) specifically identified how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Americans’ current perceptions about food as well as food-related trends from the past decade.

Three key statistics stand out.

• “85% of Americans have made at least some change in the food they eat or how they prepare it because of the coronavirus pandemic.”
• “32% of Americans reported in the survey that they are snacking more.”
• “More than half (54%) of all consumers say the healthfulness of their food choices matters more now than it did in 2010 [the last time the survey was performed].”

Safety

Understanding these changes and adapting to them is especially important for Phoenix employers as non-essential employees head back to their workplaces. Employers have an opportunity to help their employees by providing safely prepared refreshment options on-site. This is important as 27 percent of the 85 percent who have already made changes are thinking about what they are going to eat more than usual. A well-rounded and comprehensive approach to break room and food safety should play an integral part in creating a safe workplace.

Employers can also emphasize the importance of risk-reduction practices (hand washing, minimizing contact with surfaces and using wipes and hand sanitizer) at work, especially when it comes to using the break room to purchase snacks, food, and beverages from vending machines or micro-markets. Break room providers can help by openly conveying their COVID-related policies and procedures. Combining education about risk-reduction practices and break room providers’ practices will help employees feel more comfortable purchasing break room items.

Healthy

Since almost a third of participants were snacking more, employers should consider offering additional healthy options to help employees make healthier choices. Better-for-you products are even more important for those employees who have children as 33 percent of participants who are parents (compared to 16 percent without children) are more likely to “eat their feelings” and then feel less satisfied by eating.

But choosing healthier options isn’t just for those with children. With more than 50 percent of the 1,011 survey participants making dietary choices based on health-related goals, access to better-for-you products is important for all Phoenix employees. Of those 50+ percent of survey participants, 47 percent are following a specific diet to lose weight, 40 percent hope to have more energy, 39 percent are changing their physical appearance, 37 percent want to protect long-term health and prevent future health problems, and 36 percent want to prevent weight gain.

Phoenix Break Rooms

Whether it’s adding new items to your refreshment menu or updating your break room with new vending machines or a micro-market, Southwest Refreshments can help. We offer a wide variety of better-for-you and traditional snacks, fresh food, cold beverages, and office coffee service that can safely meet the refreshment needs of your employees. For more information, please contact us at 623.780.3036. We look forward to hearing from you.  

Snacks have many different purposes. For some Scottsdale individuals, they are a meal replacement while for other individuals they are a treat or a reason to gather with colleagues or friends. Just as there are different characteristics that make people unique, there are many reasons why individuals choose to snack.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered drastic changes in how Scottsdale employees live and work, snacks have become even more essential for many individuals. According to a recent U.S. Snack Index survey “85% of respondents said eating their favorite snack makes them feel normal.” Some of those favorites are potato chips, popcorn, and corn chips. In this time of great change, small things that create a sense of normalcy are important since they can positively impact mental health. 

But snacking on one’s favorites isn’t the only thing survey participants want. They still prefer easily accessible snacks over ones that are harder to acquire, and they want variety or the option to try new products. In fact, 86 percent of survey participants said that the most important factor in deciding about what to snack on is convenience while 83 percent said sticking with a favorite ranks at the top.

Convenience

Many Scottsdale employers have been presented with a new opportunity to make sure their snack and beverage menus offer what their employees want. It’s worthwhile to take the time to ask employees about their preferences. Considering your employees’ opinions sends them a message that says, “We value you.” 

With only 47 percent of survey participants saying they could locate all the snacks they wanted while shopping, employers have been presented with a new opportunity to increase convenience and customize their break room benefits. Offering on-site refreshments not only ups the convenience factor but they also encourage employees to stay on-site during breaks and meals. 

Less time spent off-site increases employee productivity and hopefully decreases the risk of infection. Gathering on-site in small groups during breaks also creates essential moments that can be used to rebuild morale and the office community that has been missing with fewer employees in the office.

Something New

Even though survey participants placed a heavy focus on snacking on their favorites, they are still interested in trying new snacks. In the survey, Millennials and Gen Z represented the largest and most adventurous demographic. A few things to consider, in addition to convenience, when thinking about what Millennials and Gen Z are looking for with new choices are healthy options, high-protein, low calorie snacks, options with a low environmental footprint, and trustworthy brands.  

How successfully does your Scottsdale break room menu meet your employees’ refreshment needs? Whether you need to make a complete overhaul or just a few changes, Southwest Refreshments is available to help. We offer a wide variety of traditional and healthy snacks and beverages as well as contactless payment options to help keep everyone safe. For more information, please call us at 623.780.3036. We look forward to hearing from you.

With warmer weather on its way, Phoenix employees need to make sure they stay cool and hydrated. Being dehydrated especially when it’s warm out can have a wide range of adverse effects from having trouble concentrating at work to other more serious heat-related illnesses. 

To remind everyone to remember to stay hydrated, June 23 is National Hydration Day. Created in honor of the inventor, Victor Hawkins, who developed a hydrating mouthguard, National Hydration Day focuses on encouraging everyone to drink plenty of hydrating beverages. Staying properly hydrated means that more water is going into the body than the amount of water that is leaving. Dehydration is the opposite. 

Thinking about staying hydrated isn’t just for employees who work outside, although it is especially important for them. Those who work indoors need to plan out how they are going to consume enough water too. Working in an air-conditioned environment can cause moisture to evaporate from the skin and lungs faster than it would otherwise. Drinking enough water is important for all Phoenix individuals.

Severe dehydration is dangerous and can cause life-threatening medical conditions, but most Phoenix employees only need to contend with a much milder form. For example, workplace productivity can be negatively impacted by dehydration because of a decrease in cognitive abilities, reduction in concentration and alertness, and slower reaction times, both mentally and physically.

An easy way to decrease dehydration during the workday is to consume more water. If your employees are not a fan of plain water, try offering a slice of lemon or lime to add to their water, a favorite brand of flavored sparkling water or a cold glass of iced coffee or tea. Consuming water doesn’t always have to happen via a beverage. Many fruits and vegetables including watermelon, strawberries, peaches, cantaloupe, lettuce, celery, cucumber, and tomatoes boost hydration because they contain higher amounts of water. They make great healthy snacks too.

Employers can help their employees stay hydrated year-round by offering a variety of sought-after cold beverages like water, iced or herbal tea or naturally flavored sparkling water in the break room. Whether there are vending machines, a micro-market, or a cashless pantry in your Phoenix break room, it’s easy to customize your beverage menu to offer the refreshing and hydrating options your employees want. For more information about refreshment options including snacks, fresh food, and healthy options as well as office coffee service, please contact Southwest Refreshments at 623.780.3036.

Everyone can agree that eating healthy is important, but making it happen every day can be a challenge. According to a recent survey from the American Heart Association and Aramark, a U.S. based food service company, participants expressed that availability of healthy foods (43 percent), “convenience (60%) and taste preference (54%) as having a great deal/quite a bit of impact on choosing an unhealthy lunch.” 

While those numbers aren’t the best, there are two other numbers that are better. “More than 4 in 5 (82%) agree that having healthy food options at work is important to them and more than 2 in 3 (68%) value help from their employer in becoming healthier.” 

Understanding these statistics and taking the next step can help employers determine the best way to provide break room refreshments for their employees. Rather than assuming which products employees would like to have available, employers should survey their employees to find out. Different individuals will have different preferences that develop from a number of factors including upbringing, genetics, culture and individual experiences.

So, what makes a snack better-for-you? The broad definition is a snack that has a high nutritional value or one that is high in protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber but low in calories, fat, sugar and sodium. A popular example is nuts. While nuts are high in calories and fat, they have lots of important nutrients. 

The following are three suggestions for choosing healthier snacks.

• choose a snack that has between 150 and 250 calories. Always check the portion size on the nutrition label. The portion size and the size of the package are often two different amounts.
• choose items that have about 3 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein per serving. Since fiber and protein can create a feeling of fullness, Scottsdale employees are likely to stay full longer, decreasing the overall amount eaten.
• avoid snacks that have more than 12 grams of fat per serving. Consuming too many saturated fats can raise LDL or “bad” cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Whether Scottsdale employees need an unplanned pick-me-up or didn’t have time to fix something at home to bring to work with them, access to healthy vending machine snacks and beverages is a great option.  It also supports what employees are looking for—convenient and tasty choices and help from their employer to become healthier and access to better-for-you choices at work.

We at Southwest Refreshments believe in supporting the Scottsdale area by providing a large selection of better-for-you and traditional snacks and beverages in our vending machines. For more information about our vending solutions, micro-market offerings and coffee service, please contact us at 623.780.3036.

How much do Scottsdale consumers really know about the snacks and beverages they consume? Some attributes like price, convenience and taste are relatively easy to determine, but whether an item was produced in an environmentally sustainable way is a lot harder to figure out.

In addition to taste (86 percent), price (68 percent) and convenience (57 percent), the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation’s 2019 Food and Health Survey determined that sustainability (54 percent) is an important factor when it comes to making a purchasing decision. 

Unfortunately, those 54 percent of participants have different interpretations about what makes a product environmentally sustainable, creating some confusion. The following list includes the top six interpretations of environmentally sustainable.

• locally produced products: 51 percent 
• products labeled as sustainably produced: 47 percent 
• products labeled as non-GMO/not bio-engineered: 47 percent  
• products labeled as organic: 44 percent
• products that have recyclable packaging: 41 percent
• products that have minimal packaging: 35 percent

With 63 percent of the survey participants also agreeing that it is hard to know if a product is environmentally sustainable, the confusion about the definition of environmentally sustainable makes sense. But a definition does exist. According to the U.N.’s Brundtland Commission on sustainable development, “sustainable development [meets] the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” 

To determine if snacks or beverages are sustainable look for the following certifications: USDA Organic, Animal Welfare Approved, Certified Humane Raised and Handled, Fair Trade USA Certified and Rainforest Alliance Certified. Another approach is to learn about a brand and the specific types of ingredients that brand uses. If an employee trusts a brand and is familiar with the types of ingredients that a brand uses, they are more likely to purchase that brand’s snacks and beverages. 

Scottsdale employers can help ensure that environmentally sustainable products are available for their employees by including micro-markets or vending machines with healthy options, a variety of coffees and sustainable paper products in their break room. Southwest Refreshments makes that even easier for local businesses by offering a variety of healthy snacks, beverages, fresh food and delicious coffees. For more information about our menu, please call us at 623.780.3036.