Elsewhere: Remember me? Yeah, me either. This whole graduate school thing is hard – who knew!?! Elsewhere is my series of posts highlighting content from sources I find interesting, inspiring and supportive.
My world got a little bit smaller the other day. When I walk the dog I usually listen to podcasts, downloadable audio and video shows. Think TiVo for your iPhone. You already knew that didn’t you?
So I’m listening to American Public Media’s The Splendid Table. If you are at all inclined towards the culinary arts, by which I mean eating, then it is well worth a listen. You can dial it in on most NPR stations, although I suggest you download it to you portable gizmo as a podcast, either through iTunes or their website directly.
Anyway. Host Lynne Rossetto Kasper kicks off each week with a mini-monolog about some food trend or observation.
This week, Lynne discussed an employer which is offering to help subsidize community sponsored agriculture (CSA) memberships for employees. CSAs are like gym memberships for famers markets. Usually you pre-pay to “join” a farm and get regular deliveries of fresh veggies, meats, dairy, etc. You help fund the operations and get a share of the lauder in return.
Think about that for a second – an employer that was willing to sponsor a food lifestyle choice for employees.
Some employers, although I anecdotally suspect the number is low, sponsor gym memberships for employees. The idea is when you workout you are healthier and thus avoid disease and illness which, in turn, saves the company money on healthcare costs.
If that logic holds true (and aren’t we told we are what we eat?) then doesn’t sponsoring healthy food choices also make sense?
There is a lot of talk in the healthcare industry about “accountable care.” Without going into details on the pros and cons and esoteric points, suffice it to say it means healthcare provides partner with the people paying for care to reduce the cost and innovate the care model. Most people who get insurance in the US, outside of Medicare, get it through their employers. Many of those employers are self-insured; meaning they pay for care out of the company’s coffers, even if administered through a third-party commercial plan. You may have blue cross, but your employer is likely footing most if not all of the bill.
Given that, doesn’t it make sense for employers to support employees who make healthy food choices?
Paying for CSA memberships is admittedly not the norm. It is a little on the hippie, 2000s-dot-com-days side of out there. But it may offer similar benefits as paying for gym membership, or perhaps it is even better. Nonetheless, it is as least accountable, forwarding thinking and socially responsible.