Crunchy, tasty, and highly nutritious. Carrots are a particularly good source of beta carotene, fiber, vitamin K1, and Vitamin B6, which is involved in the conversion of food into energy. A full salad contains all that... and more. Today, organizations look at ways to incentivize and encourage their employees to lead better lives, and soon enough, to return to their workplaces, and while HR departments might dangle many carrots to encourage their employees, it turns out, a literal carrot might just be the best way.

It's no secret that employees who are well taken care of perform better. A happy employee is a productive employee, and what could make employees happier than a free lunch? Many companies are starting to see the benefits of providing their employees with a program that offers, healthy and convenient lunches. Not only does this improve employee wellbeing and wellness, but it can also help reduce stress levels and promote collaboration. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the benefits of providing employees with lunch, as well as some tips on how to do it effectively!

Call it a perk, benefit, or incentive… a carrot by any other name, providing lunch (particularly a healthy one) is one of the best programs you can introduce at your company to improve workforce, culture, and ease into the return to work.

The Huffington Post reports that, on average, employees spend around $21 per week on lunch. That's over $1000 a year! If your company is providing employees with a lunch allowance, that's great news. But even if you're not, there are plenty of ways to provide lunches for your employees without breaking the bank, and Canada's first Virtual Food Court might be it!

"The Virtual Food Court is a web-based platform that connects employees with local restaurants that will deliver healthy, affordable meals to their workplace." This innovative solution offers employees a variety of meal choices and allows them to customize their orders however they like. And the best part? It's affordable! With no delivery, service or additional charge you usually see on delivery apps, your employees will save up to 54% of what they pay for residential food delivery.

Healthy employees are productive employees – A nutritious lunch can help boost energy levels and improve productivity throughout the day. In fact, lunch breaks are just as important, a study conducted by Live Science showed that tough mental tasks can cause more fatigue than you might realize. Participants were asked to exercise, and those that had first expended mental energy on a challenging task stopped 15% earlier than those who didn’t. Heading into the afternoon, you can count on having less energy if your morning was consumed by difficult work.

We all know that lunch is an important part of the workday. It's a time to take a break, recharge, and refuel. Not only that, but it's also a time for employees to socialize and network with one another. By providing employees with lunch, you're not only helping them stay healthy and productive, but you're also promoting teamwork and collaboration.

We listed the top 9 reasons why you should introduce a subsidized food program at your company:

1. Incentivize employees to return to the office: what better way to reward employees who are adapting from the work from home structure and back to sitting on desks and commuting to the office?
2. Increase your workforce productivity:  you might have experienced this yourself... how much more productive are you when you've had a great healthy lunch. And how much more productive were you when that lunch arrived to you with minimal effort or decision made on your part?
3. Provide employees with a perk with a quantifiable perk with real value: a perk that offers quantifiable, monetary value to your employees is one they would use and appreciate. Our existing clients have noted that most of their employees would rather have a subsidized lunch than discounted perks that often sit unused.
4. Improve job satisfaction and wellbeing of your people:  Happy employees make for a better environment, well-fed and happy employees make for the best environment!
5. Give employee time-back: Decision paralysis is real! Allow employees to take a walk over lunchtime without having to wonder which restaurant they'll walk into and give them time spent in line back... let the lunchtime walk be that.. a walk after or before a great meal, delivered.
6. Dinner when overtime is required, lunch when business as usual: while most of hungerhub's clients provide lunches daily to their workforce, financial services companies have tax seasons, law firms have deadlines and tech companies have product launches... Provide an easy solution to bring in meals for those times when extra time is needed.
7. Improve company culture: happy, satisfied employees improve company culture and a free lunch or meal program nurtures a better environment. What's better chatter around the water-cooler than discussing favourite restaurants, recommendations, and what meals are going to be ordered next time?
8. Incorporate your lunch into other HR-led programs: make lunches a part of your organization's learning & development programs with lunch & learns or a healthy meal solution to support your next fitness challenge!
9. Support your local economy: what better way to give back to your city than by supporting local restaurants by ordering meals from the best in your neighbourhood and beyond? Not only will your people appreciate food coming from their local favourites, but your entire city will also thank you for helping to keep the lights on for restaurants during a difficult time.

Are you an HR leader, or responsible for your people, talent, or culture at your organization? Talk to us to learn how other companies are enabling a lunch program at their workplace with Virtual Food Courts, whether you pay for, subsidize in part for meals or have not set a budget for office lunches... A Virtual Food Court might be just the thing you need!

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