Companies should subsidize healthy eating more
A salad in our cafeteria costs $.27 per ounce. That means that you can get a filling entree salad for about $4-5. But by the same token, I can get a hamburger for half that amount and a large slice of pizza for even less. In face there are a whole lot of less healthy options that I can get for less than the cost of a salad. And companies wonder why they spend too much on health care.
According to SysCo, a food service provider out of Washington state, the ready-to-eat food cost for each salad bar item at the salad bar varies between $.05 and $.10 per ounce. That means that at worst, they are marking up the cost of the item over 250% of the market cost. Labor costs are typically about 45% of the cost of an item, so we're still looking at $.12 profit or so per ounce. Consider that the average salad is between 12-15 ounces, and the salad bar ends up being quite profitable.
But I question whether the profit is worth the cost that the company has to pay in terms of the increase in health care costs for its workers. Overweight workers are more likely to have problems with blood pressure and diabetes than lean workers. The costs for treating the conditions caused by obesity are cycled into the health care system and the company has to pay for it indirectly.
I eat at the cafeteria because it is more convenient and generally less expensive than any of the options near the building. But when choosing options in the cafeteria, price is still a consideration. I know that 1 slice of pizza at $2.50 will fill me up, but that the $5.00 salad is better for me. If the entree salad could be priced more competitively, I'd choose the healthier option. If the company were to take a fraction of the cost of the employee's health care costs and subsidize food options that are less likely to cause obesity, more people would choose to eat better food, less likely to cause obesity.
I know that there are like 100 points to connect subsidizing the salad bar to a reduction in health care costs, but the idea is at least there. So Mr CEO-Man, are you going to kick in a little now or more later?
According to SysCo, a food service provider out of Washington state, the ready-to-eat food cost for each salad bar item at the salad bar varies between $.05 and $.10 per ounce. That means that at worst, they are marking up the cost of the item over 250% of the market cost. Labor costs are typically about 45% of the cost of an item, so we're still looking at $.12 profit or so per ounce. Consider that the average salad is between 12-15 ounces, and the salad bar ends up being quite profitable.
But I question whether the profit is worth the cost that the company has to pay in terms of the increase in health care costs for its workers. Overweight workers are more likely to have problems with blood pressure and diabetes than lean workers. The costs for treating the conditions caused by obesity are cycled into the health care system and the company has to pay for it indirectly.
I eat at the cafeteria because it is more convenient and generally less expensive than any of the options near the building. But when choosing options in the cafeteria, price is still a consideration. I know that 1 slice of pizza at $2.50 will fill me up, but that the $5.00 salad is better for me. If the entree salad could be priced more competitively, I'd choose the healthier option. If the company were to take a fraction of the cost of the employee's health care costs and subsidize food options that are less likely to cause obesity, more people would choose to eat better food, less likely to cause obesity.
I know that there are like 100 points to connect subsidizing the salad bar to a reduction in health care costs, but the idea is at least there. So Mr CEO-Man, are you going to kick in a little now or more later?
posted by mypetrock at 11:29 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home