How to Use Behavioral Design Strategies

Strategize and Act on Food Service Guidelines

At a glance

Behavioral design strategies can be used in food service to facilitate selection of healthier foods. There are several steps to implementing behavioral design in cafeterias, micro markets, vending machines. These strategies can be adapted in other venues such as food kiosks, concession stands, snack bars, sundry shops, and eldercare facilities.

Colorful and appealing foods on a salad bar

Introduction

Follow the steps below to implement behavioral design strategies in cafeterias, micro markets, and similar venues. Behavioral design can also be applied to vending machines.

Experiment with behavioral design in food service venues. Try different strategies and different combinations of strategies. Consider ways to modify the examples provided for specific venues.

Steps to using behavioral design strategies

  1. Identify all food service operations in your building, company, or institution. Examples include cafeterias, micro markets, and vending machines, as well as areas where food is prepared or eaten, such as breakrooms.
  2. Use these checklists to see examples of strategies. Most individual strategies on the checklists include links to visual examples.
    1. Behavioral Design Strategies for Cafeterias, Micro Markets, and Similar Food Venues
    2. Behavioral Design Strategies for Vending Machine Operations
  3. Click on links below for figures illustrating strategies in specific venues. You can adapt these strategies to different venues as appropriate. For example, micro market strategies can be used in food kiosks, concession stands, snack bars, or sundry shops. Similarly, some cafeteria strategies can be used in congregate meal settings, such as in eldercare facilities.
    1. Deli station of cafeteria.
    2. Grill station of cafeteria.
    3. Salad bar station of cafeteria.
    4. World cuisine station of cafeteria.
    5. Cafeteria seating and atmospherics.
    6. Micro market.
    7. Vending machine for beverages.
    8. Vending machine for food.
  4. Consult or form a committee to focus on behavioral design strategies. If your organization already has a team implementing and managing food service guidelines, recruiting committee members may be an ideal starting point. This team may include public health employees, worksite wellness staff, facility managers and leaders, and food service staff. Using the appropriate checklist, the committee can meet at the relevant venue to:
    1. Determine which behavioral design strategies are already in use.
    2. Identify new behavioral design strategies to begin using now or use in the future.
    3. Compare the benefits of the new strategies with the effort and resources that will be needed to implement them. Depending on capacity, it may be beneficial to begin with the easiest strategies.
  5. Use multiple strategies that complement each other to accomplish goals. For example, customers may buy more fresh fruit if you:
    1. Place healthier items in the line of sight when customers enter the venue (placement and layout).
    2. Offer fresh-cut fruit in ready-to-eat containers (product innovations and defaults).
    3. Offer discounts on items that are about to expire. For example, set the checkout machine to charge 50 cents less on Fridays for fruit that will be replaced over the weekend (pricing and promotion).
    4. Label food products that are locally sourced, certified organic, or produced through other certified community development or environmentally beneficial practice at the point of purchase (information).
  6. Plan to continually introduce new strategies and new combinations of strategies. Monitor your efforts and outcomes and make necessary changes improve the sale of healthy items. This approach will keep the consumer experience fresh. People adapt to changes, and the effectiveness of some behavioral design strategies or combinations may fade over time.
  7. Make behavioral design strategies part of your ongoing monitoring and evaluation process. For guidance on how to evaluate your food service operations, see the Monitor and Evaluate section of the Food Service Guidelines Implementation Toolkit.

MyPlate for professionals‎

MyPlate has information for professionals to communicate to consumers about healthy eating.

More behavioral design information

Female and male in food service line at cafeteria.
Evidence for Behavioral Design Strategies
Evidence and rationale for six behavioral design practices used in food service.

Next steps

Food service vendor standing with arms folded and smiling at camera.
Work With Food Vendors
Vendors can procure healthier foods and beverages that customers find culturally preferable.
Two Muslim women in traditional attire dining in a worksite cafeteria.
Consider Cultural Food Preferences: FAQ
How to identify culturally preferred foods and work with vendors to offer preferred foods.
Smiling man in office with laptop computer.
Collaborate with Worksite Wellness Staff
Work with worksite wellness staff, who can help you get buy-in from leadership.
Chef and kitchen staff taking a selfie after receiving recognition with audience applauding.
Use Recognition Programs
Publicity can encourage other worksites and community facilities to implement food service guidelines.

Return to "Building Blocks"

Use the "Building Blocks of Food Service Guidelines" to navigate to other parts of the Food Service Guidelines Implementation Toolkit.

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Content Source:
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)