Employees at Erie Insurance have plenty of ways to learn about health, from nutritional analyses to classes taught by the foodservice manager.
At A Glance: Erie (Pa.) Insurance
•Contractor: Metz & Associates
•Customer base: 1,500 employees
•Participation rate: 1,200 to 1,300 customers per day
•Size of cafe: 280 seats
•Hours of operation: 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
•Check average: $2.02: $4.25 at lunch
A confluence of programs at Erie Insurance Co., Erie, Pa., is benefiting employees and giving Metz and Associates, Ltd. a chance to demonstrate its commitment to health and wellness.
Jennifer Bucci, foodservice director at this 1,500-employee account, has successfully melded Metz’s Health Checks program with her client’s Healthy Directions initiative to give Erie employees a comprehensive wellness movement that even includes healthy cooking classes.
"Erie launched its Healthy Directions program several years ago," explains Bucci, who came to Erie in 1999. "In 2004 we began talking with them about what we could do to add to the program. They have offered many programs in the building promoting health and fitness. Being that we’re their vendor and we capture a lot of people at meals, it was just a great fit to try and incorporate healthy eating habits and a little education into the mix. In January 2005 we rolled out our effort and it just continues to develop."
Health Checks is a company-wide program developed by Metz’s team of nutritionists that identifies healthful menu items with a check mark. Healthy Checks items are typically low in calories and sodium and contained a limited amount of fat.
"We’ve actually done quite a bit with the program, to the point where we’re nutritionally analyzing everything we sell," says Bucci, detailing the enhancements to Healthy Checks. "We have a nutrition label that will tell you the calories, the grams of fat—the whole nine yards. We’re not just analyzing what’s healthy for you; we’re also analyzing the not-so-healthy items so that people can make informed choices."
"Everything pretty much fits into a healthy diet, with moderation being the key," she adds. "Eating healthy doesn’t mean you can’t have that cheeseburger and fries. It means that you understand what you’re eating so you can balance out by making healthier choices the rest of the week."
Bucci has gone so far as to add Weight Watcher points to menu items to help customers who may be following that diet plan.
"We don’t have the Weight Watchers program here, but Erie does sponsor Weight Watchers, so we have a lot of Weight Watchers in the building," she says. "So I just write ‘pts.’ at the end of the analysis."
Customers see healthful dining information as soon as they enter the cafeteria, starting with a three-panel display that includes the Healthy Directions programs the company may be offering at the time and an area where nutritional information is provided.
"The display is where you will find the nutritional analysis for anything that is a daily special," Bucci explains. "Anything on our regular menu has the analysis on a brochure that customers can pick up. If the item is in our grab-and-go cooler, which we call ‘Up For Grabs,’ we have a sticker with our logo and the nutritional analysis. If it’s a snack item that is made by us, it also will have nutritional information provided."
The display also will contain other hand-outs from organizations like the Dairy Council or Five-A-Day, or articles written by the Metz corporate dietitian. There are also nutrition and lifestyle magazines customers can read while they eat.
To make sure that Metz and Erie are on the same page, health-wise, Bucci meets monthly with Erie’s Healthy Directions coordinator to discuss how the program is working and what might need to be tweaked. Out of one of those meetings came Bucci’s monthly cooking classes.
"At one of our initial meetings, we thought that twice a year it might be nice to have a cooking class," Bucci recalls. "Well, after the first class it was obvious that the idea was so popular we should make it monthly. We’re in our second year."
Topics for her classes have included: Good Carbs, Bad Carbs (featuring an RD guest speaker); Add Flavor with Herbs; Turkey Tips, and Cooking with Whole Wheat & Veggie Pasta.
"The goal is to teach people about healthy cooking and to give them things to think about," she explains. "Our lifestyle is one of convenience and I don’t think people in general cook as much as they once did. With all the convenience items out there on the market, it’s important to know how to read labels and know what you’re putting in your body."
Classes run from 11:40 a.m. to 12:20, and are free to any Erie employee. They’re held outdoors in the summer to take advantage of the weather and facilitate the teaching of classes like "Healthy Grilling." They’ve ranged in size from 75 to 200.
"It’s funny because I never considered teaching a cooking class," says Bucci, an Erie native who is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Institute of the Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh. "I was a little nervous at first, but usually after every class people stop me to tell me how much they learned."