Meijer, NuVal Partner on Wellness Program
Meijer is partnering with nutritional scoring program NuVal for the first-ever "Nu-Me Weight Loss Challenge” that offers the retailer’s 60,000 team members the opportunity at prize money totaling $15,000 over the three-month contest.
The program is the largest health and wellness contest in the retailer's history and a first-of-its-kind corporate partnership for NuVal.
"Health and wellness is an important cornerstone of what we stand for at Meijer," said Shari Steinbach, lead dietitian and healthy living advisor for Meijer. "NuVal has been a great partner for many years, offering a simple tool that helps shoppers make healthier food choices. We're excited to offer team members an opportunity to engage with NuVal in a fun and informative way that will help them make healthy changes in their lives."
Meijer team members from the store level to corporate headquarters have signed up and will compete as teams in one of eight divisions: Northern, Mid-Michigan, Eastern, Western, Central and Southern Regions, Supply Chain and Corporate. One team in each division will win a $1,000 grand prize.
To be eligible for the grand prize, all team members were required to get a verified weigh-in either at a Meijer pharmacy or at corporate headquarters in Grand Rapids, Mich., before the March 1 contest kickoff and again at the end of the challenge from May 20-31. The Nu-Me Challenge also features weekly activities through an internal portal that allows team members to win prizes for participating whether they've received a verified weigh-in or not. Through that portal, they will have access to weight loss strategies, NuVal tips for healthy eating and a feature that allows them to track their daily eating habits and exercise. Participants will also receive weekly newsletters with health and wellness ideas.
"At Meijer, our goal of providing simple solutions to make healthy living easier has always extended beyond our customers to our team members, but this contest will help us take it to a new level," said Amanda Senecal, Meijer wellness program specialist. "We think sparking this healthy competition among co-workers is an opportunity for a lot of fun."
Meijer implemented the NuVal Nutritional Scoring System in 2009. It calculates and summarizes a grocery product's nutritional information into a single number; scores are displayed directly on shelf tags, scale labels and other signage, helping shoppers make nutritional comparisons between foods.
Meijer Inc. operates 199 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.