Workplaces are notorious for having bagels, cakes, Snickers bars and other foods that are “bad” for us in the breakroom. During the holidays, it gets even worse — but who can resist?
Erin Mittelstaedt, chief executive officer of The FruitGuys, has some advice.
Eat fruit. For 28 years, The FruitGuys has delivered farm-fresh fruit, vegetables and fruit snacks to offices, schools and homes from 11 facilities nationwide — including Arizona.
The FruitGuys introduced the “fruit at work” concept in San Francisco in 1998 to help companies provide healthy options for employees during the workday. Organizations subscribe to the service to have fruit shipped weekly or monthly
“We had one client that would get fruit every Wednesday. They would only do interviews on Wednesdays because it was when there were the most people in the office. The office looked its best. People are bringing it in to enhance their own culture, too.
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Today, The FruitGuys has regional distribution hubs across the United States, each with a local network of small family farms, and next-day delivery of fresh produce in environmentally friendly crates.
“Our goal is to support small farms and buy locally and regionally whenever we can, and then bring healthier, better-for-you snacks into the office,” Mittelstaedt said.
Employees choose the best of what’s in season, and we put a mix of fruit together for delivery to clients’ break rooms. They’re putting the fresh fruit out in their pantry for their employees as part of their wellness benefits.”
At first, The FruitGuys’ staff had a hard time persuading people that fruit was an ample replacement for Red Bull and chocolate-covered espresso beans during the dot.com boom.
“So, early on, we had to really ask people to carve out part of their budget to bring in fresh fruit,” she said.
The FruitGuys GoodWorks program supports people and good health, from the field to the table, she said. The nonprofit’s weekly donations provide food pantries across the country with more than 300,000 pounds of fresh produce a year.
“We are fortunate to work with customers who share our ideals about health, the environment and our communities,” she said.
“Our Donate-A-Crate program allows customers to forward their produce to local charities when they are closed for holidays.”
The FruitGuys Farm Steward program supported small family farms through micro-loans, grants and gifts of plants, beehives, and bat and owl boxes, leading to the 2013 founding of The FruitGuys Community Fund, a non-profit fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, which supports small independent American farms and sustainable agriculture.
“It’s really important for us to give back,” Mittelstaedt said.
“That’s what I think makes us the proudest. We’re feeding people and connecting people through food, and then also doing good in the world.”
Middelstaedt said she and her co-workers are passionate about fruit for one reason.
“Food is fun,” she said. “It’s a great connector. It brings people together. I really love the connections it creates. I love being connected to the food industry, to small family farms and to farming in the United States. I love that we have so many people I get to work with who are truly passionate about this work. It makes this work feel easy.”
