Strategize and Act

At a glance

Once you have built your foundation, decide which strategies to implement and act upon those strategies. Communication is important for success.

Icon of a circle with two hands shaking in the center against a green background.

Strategies

There are many strategies for implementing food service guidelines. Below are a few that can contribute to the success of your food service guidelines initiative.

Communication

As you implement your strategies, remember that communicating with all involved parties is important. These parties may include leaders, partners, vendors, and customers. Use communication channels such as newsletters, social media, webinars, meetings, and fact sheets. Messaging and communication channels should be tailored to the audience's unique needs. For example:

Some leaders, partners, and organizations work independently to ensure people have access healthier foods and beverages. You can meet with these individuals and organizations to describe how collaborating and pooling resources can have a more significant impact than working separately. Memorandums of Understanding help communicate roles and responsibilities between you and a partnering organization.

Many vendors are willing to implement food service guidelines but are concerned they could lose sales. Supply them with success stories of how vendors maintained or increased profits after offering healthier food and beverage items.

Customers may be interested in supporting local agriculture. Encourage vendors to use signs or displays that communicate which menu offerings contain locally grown foods. Alternatively, you can supply signs or displays to encourage purchasing menu offerings that support local agriculture.

Next steps

Food service guidelines policy framework.
Put Guidelines in Organizational Policies and Food Vendor Contracts
Elements of a comprehensive food service guidelines policy and links to sample contract language.
Close up of hands getting a salad in a food service setting
Apply Behavioral Design Strategies
Provides information on applying behavioral design and introduces six behavioral design categories.
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.
Icons for the four Building Blocks of Food Service Guidelines. The four icons are 1) trowel and brick wall 2) shaking hands 3) a checklist and 4) a street sign going in three directions.
Food Service Guidelines Implementation Toolkit
Describes how to use the four Building Blocks of the Food Service Guidelines Implementation Toolkit.
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Content Source:
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)