Employees at Lightolier, a Fall River lighting company in the Airport Industrial Park with over 600 employees, can now shop for healthy produce right at work. Through a project sponsored by the Health and Wellness Committee at the plant, several farms and produce wholesalers bring fruits and vegetables that employees can order and pick up each week in the Wellness Center. Committee members and other employees work for several hours every Friday to weigh, count, bag and label orders that employees then pick up on their lunch break. "It's a very efficient system," noted Debbie Horton, Wellness Committee member. "We distributed food to over 100 employees last week in a little over an hour." Much of the produce is locally grown and comes from Reed Brothers Farm in Dighton. Other produce comes from Nassif Fruit in Fall River. "They treat us like any other retailer," noted Occupational Nurse and Wellness committee member Mary Dunn. "Our employees end up paying wholesale prices which is a big savings." Lightolier employees participated in a diabetes prevention program offered by the Diabetes Association last year. For more information about the market, contact Wellness Committee member Mary Dunn at 508-679-8131.
 

(Top row, left) Chris Cabral bags and weighs green beans to order that arrive in a crate. (Top row, right) Raymond Carreiro and Madeline Medeiros pack locally-grown cucumbers. (Middle row, left) Some non-local produce comes though wholesalers. (Middle row, right) Wellness Committee member Debbie Horton discusses the orders with Mary Dunn and Joseph Santos. (Bottom row, left) Judy Zarlenga helps Gloria Richard pick out some items in addition to their order. (Bottom row, center and right) Mario Cabral checks out and prepares to take his order home.