Food & Beverages

Fitlife Foods, the Southeast's leading omni-channel prepared meals brand, announces the launch of Corporate Meal Solutions as a new employee benefit.

Corporate Meal Solutions integrates weekly meals as a nutritious and delicious benefit into workplaces supporting talent recruitment, engagement, and retention. Fitlife's Corporate Meal Solutions program focuses on the transformation of a workplace by providing a daily wellness benefit focused on nutrition to fuel physical and mental health.

"Prior to COVID, we offered discounted Fitlife Foods meals to our staff. Upon return to the office, we provide free Fitlife meals as part of our commitment to employee wellness," said Tampa Bay Rays President Matt Silverman. "The feedback from our staff about our partnership with Fitlife Foods has been overwhelmingly positive."

"With our Corporate Meal Solutions program, we empower employees to save time, eat healthier and avoid energy crashes. Companies can now do more than just talk about employee wellness, but demonstrate it by investing in it," said David Osterweil, Fitlife Foods Founder & CEO.

According to Osterweil, nutrition-fueled employees are "motivated and focused with added energy and time to maximize their productivity at work and home."

"We created Corporate Meal Solutions because of the unprecedented shift in workplaces to support employees' health and wellbeing. This new workforce is looking beyond the standard benefits of healthcare and 401K," said Fitlife Foods Investor and Board Chairman Shilen Patel. "It takes a holistic approach to their well-being to attract and retain top-tier talent in 2024."

Chipotle Mexican Grill announced that it will be providing additional financial wellness and mental well-being support for more than 110,000 employees through a new Employee Assistance Program and enhanced benefits. The company will hire additional employees over the next couple of months to prepare for its busiest period of the year from March to May, which has been famously coined "burrito season."

Chipotle's new benefits will enable eligible employees to:

• Pay off student debt while saving for retirement: Utilizing SoFi's Student Loan Verification (SLV) service, once an employee becomes eligible for Chipotle's 401(k) plan match, the company will match up to 4% of an employee's salary through contributions to their 401(k) if they make eligible student loan payments. The benefit solution, launched in response to Congress' approval of the Securing a Strong Retirement Act (SECURE 2.0), allows employees who qualify to no longer have to choose between paying off student debt or saving for retirement – they can do both.
• Build credit through high-tech banking: Chipotle employees will have access to a premium banking experience from Cred.ai featuring a high-tech Visa card that offers security features, faster access to paychecks, and Cred.ai's "Credit Optimizer," which helps build and boost credit scores automatically, even for employees who already have good credit.
• Manage their financial wellness: Chipotle's partnership with SoFi will also give employees access to the SoFi at Work Dashboard, a leading financial well-being education platform, which includes an assessment of current financial outlook, followed by suggestions and tools to improve.
• Access mental health resources: Chipotle's New Employee Assistance Program (EAP), SupportLinc, powered by CuraLinc Healthcare, focuses on mental and emotional well-being. It includes six free sessions with a licensed counselor or mental health coach, as well as access to tools, resources, and community support for legal, financial, and family matters.

More than 73% of Chipotle's restaurant employees are Gen Z, and these new benefits cater to the challenges they are facing. It has been widely cited that those born in the late 90s through the early 2000s are experiencing notable financial challenges, including racking up credit card debt faster than previous generations* and being nearly twice as likely as the general population to not feel confident managing their money**.

"Empowering our talent is embedded in our company's culture," said Ilene Eskenazi, Chief Human Resources Officer, Chipotle. "As we push toward our long-term goal of operating 7,000 restaurants in North America, it's crucial that we listen to and adapt to the needs of our team members, so they can grow with us."

Career Mobility at Chipotle
Crew members at Chipotle can advance to a Restaurateur in as little as three and a half years, with a total potential compensation package of approximately $100,000 while leading a multi-million-dollar business. Nearly 90 percent of current restaurant leadership started as crew members and progressed to management positions. In 2023, Chipotle promoted over 26,000 employees.

Food solutions company SpartanNash  is proud to announce its recognition as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2024 by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group for its commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). The Company received the award based on quantitative data from an Associate survey as well as other qualitative scoring methods.

"Creating an environment where every Associate belongs and feels empowered to do their best work is a fundamental part of our People First culture," said SpartanNash Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Nicole Zube. "Valuing differences is a core competency we expect as we actively strive for inclusive behaviors across our company, encouraging a sense of belonging."

Advancing DEIB at all levels of the Company is a key part of SpartanNash's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals. Over the past two years, SpartanNash has revitalized its Associate Resource Groups (ARGs) sponsored by executive leadership, expanded the internship program beyond 100 participants annually, and launched new learning and development programs. Additionally, the Company has expanded its Total Rewards offerings to appeal to a broader base of Associates. By attracting and developing diverse Associates representing different backgrounds, skills, experiences and perspectives, the Company can better connect with and serve its store guests and customers.

"Diversity is a widely discussed topic – and it remains a crucial factor as people look for an employer or a business partner. Newsweek and market-data research firm Plant-A Insights are proud to introduce 'America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2024,' highlighting companies that are committed to offering a diverse and inclusive work environment," said Newsweek's Global Editor in Chief Nancy Cooper.

The scoring process for this award involved a thorough examination of publicly available data, interviews with human resource professionals, and an anonymous online survey in which Associates shared insights into the Company's culture and work environment.

Puck, a global brand with purpose, belonging to Arla Foods multinational dairy company, announced the launch of "Selfless Shelves," an initiative aiming to empower five entrepreneurial women from five distinct villages in Lebanon, by granting them shelf space in Carrefour stores to sell their handcrafted and locally sourced produce known as "mouneh," packed in repurposed Puck glass jars. These jars highlight each woman's heart-warming story and aim to support their families with earned income. The artisanal products these five women will be selling include culinary delights such as makdous eggplant, zaatar, dried orange bitter peels, sumac, and pumpkin jam and are now available on shelves at select Carrefour branches in Lebanon starting from January 22, 2024.

Puck is launching the initiative in light of the economic crisis in Lebanon, which has left a staggering 63% of women unemployed – as stated in a report by UN Women. This is particularly prevalent in the remote regions of Lebanon where job opportunities have reached an all-time low. As a result, women across Lebanon's villages have resorted to selling "mouneh" to their communities as a means of earning a basic income. Puck noticed the initiative these women were taking towards supporting their families and decided to encourage them to continue pursuing homegrown forms of income by providing jars and shelf space for their products.

Yahia Adel Z AlSharif, Head of Category at Arla Foods, expressed enthusiasm for this campaign, stating: "Puck's proactive efforts towards community-wide sustainable consumer behaviour aim to generate positive change on a socioeconomic and environmental level. It is inspiring to see Puck take steps through ongoing campaigns to encourage mindful habits by reusing its glass jars whilst also supporting and empowering Lebanon's women-led local artisanal businesses."

And this is just the beginning. Puck understands the importance of female empowerment in society and has announced that the "Selfless Shelves" initiative is a pilot for more programs that the brand intends to roll out in the future, to continue taking conscious steps towards the improvement of women's wellbeing by providing them with healthier products, a variety of offerings and inspirational recipes.