Appetite for Wellness

A couple months ago I shared some stories about how our employees at Okuma America are having great success adopting a healthier lifestyle using an online program called Hubbub. Well, we’re doing even more than that to promote wellness here, and I thought I’d share in case you see anything you might want to try at your company.

Inspiring Info

Because of Hubbub, Okuma folks are always talking about their wellness activities, so we want to give them more info to inspire and motivate. Monthly newsletters are posted on our bulletin board regarding health and fitness, which include many healthy recipes. Those are popular, too (people copy them to take home and try). Recently we had a healthy cooking class with our company nutritionist who is onsite monthly. Okuma members can schedule a personal appointment with them at no charge to the employee. These consultations can cover anything from “how to shop healthy at the grocery store” to tweaking their personal wellness program to better suit their goals. 

RELATED: What’s All the Hubbub About?

Sometimes, We’re EPIC

We have a program called EPIC, which stands for Employees Positively Impacting Communities. This is our charitable giving initiative, and encompasses a wide variety of activities. We do things like fundraising for breast cancer awareness, fill book bags with school supplies for children in need so they are prepared to start school like everyone else, provide almost 1,000 pounds of food for Second Harvest Food Bank and other charitable events throughout the year. Wellness isn’t just nutrition for the body but also what’s good for the soul.

Food Trucks and “Cheat Meals”

Another program that’s very popular is our food trucks. We arrange for them to park on our corporate campus so members can try something new for lunch; people get pretty excited about having something new and different and also having it delivered straight to their door! Since we want to serve everyone, sometimes the food trucks offer healthy options, and sometimes they offer what I guess you might call a “cheat meal” (definitely not on the healthy nutrition list!). We try to rely on people’s suggestions and keep an open mind, making it fun for everyone. Based on the enthusiasm we see for these programs, it’s clear we’ve developed an appetite for wellness! We’re committed to keeping that momentum going.

Denise Wilson is Human Resources Senior Manager, Okuma America Corporation.