Better nutrition for better lives
The Nature’s Pride Foundation (NPF) and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) started a new partnership, which aims to improve health by promoting the better nutrition of workers in the fruit and vegetable sector.
The partnership involves multiple tiers. One includes translating GAIN’s Nutrition at Work Handbook into four languages and then making it publicly available. The partnership will also promote better nutrition in the fruit and vegetable sector through a series of webinars and articles. Finally, Nature’s Pride will roll out workforce nutrition programmes with growers in Peru and South Africa
Good nutrition is the foundation of health and therefore a better quality of life. Globally, 1 in 3 people suffer from at least one type of malnutrition. This significantly impacts their quality of life and poses challenges to employers in terms of lost productivity and potential. Given that 58% of the world’s population will spend one-third of their time at work during their adult life, occupational health is a critical determinant of overall wellbeing. Indeed, businesses in low- and middle-income countries collectively lose between $130 billion and $850 billion a year through malnutrition-related productivity loss. This is equivalent to between 0.4-2.9 % of the combined GDP of those economies.
Improving together
Improving the health of workers by offering them more balanced and nutritious meals brings benefits to workers and employers. First and foremost, it promotes the wellbeing of the workers themselves. Studies suggest that workforce nutrition programmes can increase job satisfaction, reduce sick days, and promote adequate intake of energy and micro-nutrients.
Employers also have a lot to gain: studies have shown that workforce nutrition programmes can increase productivity, and morale. The Nutrition at Work Handbook was developed by GAIN, EatWell Global, and the Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network to capitalise on the opportunity that workforce nutrition presents: it provides guidance to employers and businesses looking to provide healthy meals and snacks to their employees, with step-by-step guidance to help employers get started.
‘We are delighted with this new partnership’, said Lynnette Neufeld, GAIN’s Director of Knowledge Leadership, ‘Fruit and vegetables are at the heart of healthy diets, and we hope that through this partnership with one of Europe’s leading fruit and veg suppliers we can raise awareness and catalyse action to improve workforce nutrition in the global fruit and vegetable sector,” she says. “The partnership with Nature’s Pride also aims to demonstrate that improving workers’ nutrition is a desirable and necessary part of any truly sustainable business.'
Coen van Iwaarden from NPF could not agree more. ‘Right from the first conversation there was a perfect ‘click’, says Van Iwaarden. ‘This partnership enables us to put into practice what we believe in: contribute to a healthier world by working with expert partners such as GAIN and building on Nature’s Pride’s global network of dedicated growers. It’s very exciting to make GAIN’s excellent Nutrition at Work Handbook globally available and, at the same time, start working with it ourselves with growers in Peru and South Africa. Together we can make a big positive impact.’
For more information on workforce nutrition please click below.