THUNDER BAY -- The staff at Resolute Sawmill is collectively lighter, and healthier thanks to a wellness challenge.
Eight weeks ago, Resolute workers in the region made the vow to donate $10 to charity for every pound lost.
As a whole, Resolute staff members in the Northwest Region lost 137 pounds and presented the Regional Food Distribution Agency with a $1,366 cheque on Tuesday.
Craig Batten works as a human resources manager at Resolute, and he said managing his calories was the reason he was able to lose 20 pounds in just eight weeks.
That meant having only one doughnut over the eight weeks, he added.
“It was out of desperation for fat sugar, and unfortunately that’s what we go to," he said. "But the green foods, hardly any calories and are good for you.”
The idea to collectively lose weight at the sawmill was courtesy of health and safety supervisor Jillian Olson. Her weakness is Cheezies.
“I don’t know they’re just so good,” Olson said. “We decided we’re going to help each other kick our bad food habits by doing this.”
Olson and staff decided to donate to the RFDA, because of their purpose in the region.
“It’s an incredible cause. When you’re looking at what we do for healthy lifestyle, they are trying to provide that for the community.”
The RFDA is an organization that strives to address food shortages in the Northwest, and executive director Volker Kromm says there’s been an initiative for the organization to promote healthy eating.
“It reinforces the message we have that everybody is entitled to healthy food,” he said.
The weight-loss challenge was the sawmill’s original idea, but the RFDA is encouraging other businesses to have their own version.
“We’re going to promote this, we’ll see if we can get other companies or organizations to step up to the plate,” Kromm said.
