More nuts and fruits in the vending machines. Water bottles for every employee. A revamped lunchroom. Free bananas twice a week.

Those are just a few of the healthy changes one local business has made to improve the wellness of its employees.

During a visit in Albert Lea Monday, University of Minnesota professor Leslie Lytle, a nutrition expert, made four stops at local businesses to promote healthy changes.

During her first stop, at Innovance, she reviewed some of the healthy changes that have already been initiated and gave suggestions for others that could still be implemented.

After visiting there, she stopped at Green Lea Golf Course, St. John’s Lutheran Home and the Albert Lea Family Y.

Lytle, who is offering her expertise as part of the AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project, said she was pleased with many of the changes being implemented at Innovance.

Beth Miller, human resources coordinator at the company, said Lytle initially came to Innovance the day before the kickoff of the Vitality Project in May.

Miller said at that time Innovance agreed to be the pilot company for many of the healthier changes, and she and others with the project took a tour to see where things were healthwise.

At the end of that tour, the company — which includes Lou-Rich, Almco and Clean-Tec — received a letter from Lytle and Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner with suggestions for improvement, she said. Some of the suggestions were having more nuts and fruits in the vending machines, moving soda machines to a remote location, getting water bottles for people to have at their work stations and making the lunchroom more inviting.

So far, Miller said, Innovance has worked diligently to implement those suggestions.

The company has put in more nuts and fruits in the vending machines, along with other healthier options, and has ordered stainless steel water bottles for every employee.

The company is also in the middle of redecorating its lunchroom to make it more inviting — which in turn will cause employees to stay at the plant for lunch to socialize and potentially have a healthier meal.

Miller said the company hopes to also put in a large screen satellite television that will attract employees to stay in the lunchroom to eat.

PJ’s Cafeteria, the caterer that comes in three times a week, has started integrating healthier choices as well, she added.

In addition, Innovance will buy fruit — definitely bananas and maybe apples — to set out for employees to thank them for their work and to encourage them to eat healthy, she said. People will get incentives to sign up for the Vitality Project.

The company is just generally working to promote the Vitality Project, said Dan Claussen, a Blue Zones ambassador who also works at Innovance.

Claussen said the company has had a few groups get together to walk, and before winter, the business hopes to have a walking route marked on the inside of the plant.

“Anything we can do to help people live a healthier lifestyle,” he said.

Miller told Lytle that the number of people eating in the lunchroom has doubled since the changes began.

Lytle asked about what changes have taken place on birthdays and other special occasions when doughnuts or sweets are offered.

Miller said the company has a doughnut day once a month when they’ve started implementing half doughnuts and half fruit.

A majority of the times the fruit goes first, he said.

Other options to have instead of doughnuts, Lytle mentioned, was to have small muffins or whole wheat bagels.

Miller and Claussen said they’ve started to see people bring in bowls of fruit or muffins for their birthdays.

Lytle encouraged the company to take pictures of these healthy changes to put up at the different data stations throughout the plant. These pictures will personalize the Vitality Project and encourage more change, she said.

“Take every chance to promote and highlight when people have made the right choice,” she said. “If you can personalize it, you can get people to pay attention.”

Miller said she wanted to start posting a healthy or inspirational quote, article or cartoon that she would change regularly.

The three talked as they toured the building.

The AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project encourages simple changes to lifestyles to give people happy, healthier and longer lives.