Do you host meetings or events as part of your work or community role? Have you ever thought “I’ll get some cakes or biscuits for people attending?”  

We often see these unhealthy food options promoted as an incentive to take part. But did you know that many people find these foods a barrier to achieving good health and wellbeing? 

In our Healthy Weight consultation, many people told us that one of the biggest challenges to being a healthy weight is the over-exposure to unhealthy foods. Some even described it as a “food for reward” culture – where you are rewarded for attending events, or completing an activity, with foods like chocolates and sweets!  

As a meeting or event organiser, we can all play our part by supporting not only our own health, but that of our colleagues, residents and wider community.  

We are sharing some top tips for you to try to introduce healthier choices and keep your attendees happy, healthy, focused and engaged. 

The healthy choices we make could not only improve our health, but our pockets too. Our top tips encourage you to think about whether it is necessary to provide food or beverages in the first instance. Could the money be better used elsewhere to support our communities?  

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How do I make the changes? What do I offer? 

Short meetings or events 

If you are hosting a short meeting (for example a one hour meeting), you may want to think about whether it is essential to provide any food or drinks, particularly if it is an internal meeting with colleagues. Instead, you could:  

• Suggest everyone brings their own refillable water bottles – water will help to keep attendees hydrated and focussed. Bringing their own water bottles will help to save money, and also support our environment by removing single use cups (or the need for washing up!)  

• If the weather is fine, take the meeting outside and enjoy the fresh air – your attendees will be more engaged and focussed, and the change in setting allows for social contact that helps with overall wellbeing too.  

Longer meetings or events 

If you are hosting an extended meeting or event (for example a 3-hour meeting or half or full day event), you may be inclined to provide attendees with food or drinks. But what should you provide? Here are some suggestions: 

Breakfast options: 

Swap the pastries, pain au chocolat, and high sugar cereals for:

• Warm oats or porridge with fruit
• Yoghurt with fruit
• Scrambled eggs with spinach on brown or wholemeal toast
• Sultana mini pancakes
• More recipe ideas can be found on the NHS Healthier Families webpage.

Lunch options: 

Swap the sausage rolls, crisps, and fried food for:  

• Wraps
• Pitta bread and hummus
• Vegetable sticks and hummus (cherry tomatoes, or sticks of carrot, cucumber, celery and peppers all count towards your 5 A Day)
• Salads
• Fresh fruit
• Nuts and seeds
• To keep your attendees fuller for longer, base the main lunch item on foods like bread, rice, pasta and potatoes – choosing wholegrain/ wholemeal options where you can
• Add vegetables and salads where you can
• If providing sandwiches – again choose wholemeal where you can, and include protein fillings such as lean meats, cheese, or vegan alternatives
• Keep it light so your attendees are more focused and don’t get the mid-afternoon slump in energy
• Find more healthy swap ideas on the NHS Healthier Families webpage.

Drinks: 

• Always include water within your choice of drinks  
• If you provide hot drinks such as tea and coffee, look to include lower fat milk and decaf options.

Leading by example

Our colleagues at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital are already making changes to their meetings and events to benefit their staff and patients’ health and wellbeing. The NHS organisation recently held a staff event to launch their wellbeing portal, and swapped the unhealthy food options to ensure staff had the opportunity to enjoy fresh fruit platters.

Nicki Bellinger, Assistant Chief Nurse, said:

“It’s important that to look after our staff health and wellbeing, we not only promote good sleep hygiene or smoking cessation, but we look at food offerings. We want to ensure that if food is provided to staff, it is healthy and nutritious and supports a healthy lifestyle.”  

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How to get involved

If we want a healthier workforce and engaged meeting attendees, we all need to take make small changes and work together towards healthier choices. 

Consider using our top tips in this blog for any future meetings or events you are organising or hosting. If you’d like some more guidance or information, get in touch with the Health Improvement team by emailing healthimprovement@telford.gov.uk.

If you’d like to better understand the challenges to people achieving a healthy weight, or want to know more about our local strategy, take a look at Telford & Wrekin’s Healthy Weight Strategy 2024 – 2029 here.