Eat Healthier At Work And Like The Food? We Made It Happen.

Caution: This post likely will make you hungry.

It’s kind of hard not to be surrounded by cookies, bars, popcorn and chips.

But here’s the best part: It’s all to show you a taste-test for a healthier vending machine recently installed by Lloyd Companies in its CNA building downtown.

Items in the machine are marked green, yellow and red depending on the level of caution or restraint you should use when chowing down.

“Our goal was to get more green items in the machine,” said Angie Schaeur, an administration support aide at Lloyd.

Before being awarded a state grant, the office vending machine had some “healthier” options, “but not necessarily things people were buying,” said Kelli Baker, HR generalist at Lloyd.

“Now, they’re selling pretty well, especially with the promotion and awareness of it.”

A lobby taste test open to more than 500 people working in the building allowed for sampling Lloyd hopes will lead to healthier snacking. The vending machine now stocks SkinnyPop popcorn, SunChips, flavored bottled water, nuts and string cheese among other options.

Profile, Sanford Health’s weight management business, also has an office in the building and sampled its snacks and bars at the taste test. The hope is to eventually add them to the healthy vending machine.

“We thought it would be a great idea to team up,” Baker said.

The vending machine can be found on the second floor breakroom.

It’s just part of a bigger commitment to health and wellness at Lloyd, human resources director Becky Mutziger said.

“Our employees spend so much time at the office, it’s easy to let your snacking derail efforts to eat healthy,” she said. “Improving options at the vending machine was one easy way we can help our team make healthier choices and ultimately feel better while being more productive at work.”