In 2005, Safeway was paying $1 billion a year to provide health insurance for its workers, and the cost was rising 10 percent a year. Similar prices are confronting all kinds of employers, which together provide 160 million Americans with health care coverage. The cost of delivering that insurance has increased 31 percent over the last five years, representing the fastest-growing single corporate expense.
In response, a start-up company called the Full Yield is undertaking its own version of health care reform by using a simple premise: Eat healthier food and you’ll become healthier. The idea is to help companies move their employees to better diets that will ultimately reduce their visits to the doctor’s office and the operating room, thus cutting costs.
The company will sell fresh items made with natural, whole ingredients, and the food will be sold in corporate cafeterias and in the prepared-foods section of local supermarkets.