Healthy Catering (Energize Your Meetings)
Everyone has been to an event where they can hardly keep their eyes open after lunch. If you are planning an event, by offering access to healthy foods and physical activity you will:
- help attendees get the most out of the event
- support their overall health
- help reduce their risk for chronic disease and obesity
- model healthy behaviors
Healthy Meals Available at Per Diem
Washington Wellness, the state employees’ wellness program, General Administration and Department of Health have developed a preferred caterer list for Thurston County. This pilot project will help you create a healthier environment for your workforce. When you are purchasing food for a meeting, the preferred caterers can provide healthy meals that follow the Energize Your Meetings Guidelines by request. These healthy meals can be purchased at, or under, per diem.
Energize Your Meetings is an easy-to-use program that creates a common understanding of “healthy” between meeting planners and catering companies. Washington State Department of Health developed this program based on the latest nutrition science, feedback from administrative staff, and guidance from caterers throughout WA. The Energize Your Meetings Guidelines rate the nutrition status of food at meetings from one to five stars - with five being the most nutritious meeting.
Step 1: Download the Energize Your Meetings Guidelines
Step 2: Contact a Pre-Approved Caterer
Call or email the pre-approved caterer in Thurston County you have chosen. Let them know that you would like to use Energize Your Meetings and the state contract (#07307). They will work with you to build your menu.
| Thurston County Caterers | ||
| Bagel Brothers | (360) 352-8018 | www.bagelbrothersonline.com |
| Elyse's Catering | (360) 943-5555 | www.elysescatering.com |
| CFM-Department of Ecology | (206) 232-9771 | www.cfm-inc.com |
| Pelligrino’s at Tyee Center | (360) 753-9199 | www.tyeecenter.org |
| Pelligrino’s Italian Kitchen | (360) 753-9199 | www.tyeecenter.org/pell |
| Snickerdoo’s | (360) 458-3311 | www.snickerdoos.com |
| Uptown Organics | (360) 357-8646 | www.uptownorganics.com |
Step 3: Fill Out Your Purchase Order
When you fill out your internal purchasing order, indicate that you used state contract #07307. That’s it!
We hope you will take part in this pilot program and help provide healthy food choices at your worksite. In the near future, we hope to expand the pre-approved list of caterers to other geographic locations and more caterers.
For More Information
Contact Washington Wellness at (360) 923-2730 or info@washingtonwellness.gov. You can also check out our Healthy Catering page at http://www.washingtonwellness.gov/resources_catering.shtml.
Resources
| Energize Your Meetings - Presentation | Overview | PPT |
| Energize Your Meetings - Guidelines (DOH) | Implementation | |
| Healthy Catering Instructions | Implementation | DOC |