3 Tips to Create a Vegan-Friendly Work Environment
More people are choosing veganism or plant-based diets, whether for personal preference or out of necessity. No matter the reason, it can feel alienating when there’s a birthday celebration or office lunch party with no vegan options, causing these employees to often stay at their desks and opt out of great company culture-boosting activities.
We understand that adhering to everyone’s dietary preferences can be challenging, so we’re sharing three easy tips to create a vegan-friendly work environment.
Add more plants to the snack station.
Does your office offer free snacks or a vending machine? Check your stock for vegan-friendly options, such as nuts, granola bars, vegetables and hummus, and fresh fruit. These healthy options will also benefit your non-vegan eaters. To make your vegan employees feel extra special, be sure to have non-dairy creamer on hand.
Ask for non-vegan foods to be served on the side.
When hiring a corporate lunch caterer or offering any form of office lunch, go for customizable. Set-up family-style so employees can serve themselves, and instead of adding in something like cheese, serve it on the side. This is also great for employees with dairy allergies.
Plan a Plant-Based Challenge
Employers are finding that when following a plant-based diet, their employees take fewer sick days, have lower blood pressure levels, and are generally more productive. Hosting a month-long plant based challenge is the best way to get started.
Switch out all of your vending machine snacks with vegan-friendly options for the month, plan plant-based potlucks, and schedule weekly meet-ups during lunch breaks for employees to share their challenges, successes, and results.
These meet-ups are also great forums to share recipes and tips. Consider putting a vegan employee in charge of the planning so you won’t feel like you’re spinning your wheels on what to recommend.
In an age where we recognize that company culture is crucial to success, it’s important to ensure our employees feel heard and included. By making your office vegan-friendly, you’re not only helping your vegan employees, but your health conscious and allergen-experiencing employees as well.
Looking for an easy way to get started? Rootastes offers office lunch catering in Boston with a seasonal, customizable menu that’s full of vegan options. And our cheese and other common allergens are always served on the side. ;)
Meet Rootasters:
Meg is a dreamer, entrepreneur, and homesteader based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. She loves her cats, feasting, and road trips in her green VW Bug.