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London's City Hall Leading the Way with Healthy Food, Inside and Out
As all great advocates know, you need to be the change you want to see, and the Mayor of London’s Health team is doing just that by not only extolling the virtues of health externally, but living those changes too.
27/09/2019
The Health team, which works on projects like the London Childhood Obesity Taskforce, Healthy Workplace Award and the Healthier Food Advertising Policy has been introducing measures to motivate staff to eat and drink more healthily. During meetings, only water and hot drinks are served, and for bigger events, the Health team goes alcohol-free and only serves healthier food.
However, easily the most eye-catching has to be their Treat-Free Days Success Chart. It’s prominently displayed between the Health Team’s desks and meeting rooms so colleagues and visitors alike can take inspiration. It’s a simple but effective idea - members of the team reward themselves with a sticker for each treat-free day.
We know the importance of health in every environment, so we try to reflect that both in our external policies as well as in our own workplace. Treats are treats – not a daily event – and to get the best from our team we are working to encourage healthier environments and behaviours in the workplace. Our Treat-Free Days Chart is a fun and engaging way to encourage healthier eating and drinking in the workplace.
Vicky Hobart, GLA Head of Health at Greater London Authority
It was a bit of a challenge at first but I think it helped we were all in it together. It definitely got easier over time and it’s helped me to instil better eating habits at home as well as work. I think most people struggle with motivation when it comes to healthy eating. Supporting each other at work makes it that little bit easier to make the healthy choice. We are far from perfect but small steps can make a big difference.
Ciara Litchfield, Project Officer (Child Obesity Taskforce Secretariat), Health Team
SUGAR SMART is a campaign run by Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming. SUGAR SMART is one of the featured campaigns in the UK's Sustainable Food Cities Network.
