Nourishment
Core concepts
WELL v2 Nourishment increases access to healthy food and reduces food-related harm. Preconditions typically address fruits and vegetables, processed foods, food allergies, hand washing, and food safety. Optimizations include nutrition education, mindful eating, food environment, and food production. Candidates must know the difference between food availability and food education: offering fruit is availability; teaching portion awareness is education.
Food environment includes choice architecture-placement, pricing, default options, and signage-rather than merely what is stocked. Food allergies require identification, labeling, separation, and staff training to prevent cross-contact. Hand washing and food safety are operational preconditions for food service areas, not just design features. Mindful eating includes designated eating spaces, breaks, and reducing distracted eating.
Traps
A common trap is assuming a healthy menu satisfies every Nourishment feature. Allergen control, hand-washing access, and food-safety practices are separate requirements. Another trap is confusing nutrition education with food environment: posters are education; cafeteria layout and default sides are environment. Also watch for “available” versus “affordable” and “accessible”-a healthy option behind a locked counter may not count.
Rule of thumb
If the issue is what food is offered, think availability; if it is how choices are presented, think food environment; if it is what people know, think nutrition education.
Worked example
A cafeteria adds a salad bar but has no hand-washing station nearby and no allergen labeling. The project may fail preconditions despite the healthy option. The fix is operational: install hand-washing access, label allergens, train staff, and separate utensils.