Eight years ago, I wrote Making Effective Changes to Fire Department Nutrition Programs to show how to make nutrition a priority, and below I provide ongoing support for those interested in improving the nutrition environment in their fire department.
I wrote the above article early in my career as a dietitian working with firefighters. My goal was to provide the fire service community with a starting point to raise awareness about nutrition to improve firefighter health. Now that a few years have passed and I have more experience and insight, I would like to share what has worked and what has not worked to positively impact firefighter health through nutrition initiatives.
Continued from last time
Summary: To make effective change in your fire department, you must assess the needs of your department, develop a nutrition initiative, and monitor and evaluate the program you implement. Each department will have differences and similarities with other departments, as will each group and shift. Just as there is no one-size-fits-all prescription for nutrition, there is no one-size-fits-all prescription for nutrition programs.
Consistency
Resources and materials must be tailored to the firefighter lifestyle, but still be relevant and interesting to firefighters. Bringing in outside nutrition experts can be beneficial, but it needs to be done in a way that is relevant to the firefighter’s current situation and focused on potential improvements that are realistic and achievable.
If no outside sources are available, start by focusing on the fire station kitchen, because firefighter health really does start in the kitchen.
Small steps can make a big difference, especially when it comes to nutrition. Making nutrition a top priority for firefighter health requires adopting positive changes and often some trial and error. But being consistent, rather than an all-or-nothing or one-time approach, will yield positive results in nutrition and nutrition-related health over time.
Applying knowledge through practice
The most important thing to increase firefighter buy-in is to make the information and training relevant and interesting. One way to achieve this is to get anonymous feedback through a very quick survey. Honesty comes first.
To share some insights here, I use the Newton, Massachusetts Fire Department’s 2024 nutrition program and feedback as an example. I started with an interactive lecture that covered nutrition basics. Members then noted that the lecture was “clear and concise,” “encouraged engagement,” “provided real-life examples,” “unbiased,” and “did not push a particular way of eating.” Most importantly, limiting the lecture to 45 minutes and avoiding “death by PowerPoint” was essential for firefighters to retain useful information and affect positive change.
A simple question like, “What topic would you like to know more about?” highlighted the differences in interest between groups. Responses included, “I want to know more about added sugars,” “Intermittent fasting,” “Carnivore diet,” and “Eat more plants.” This allowed us to customize nutrition education resources, presentations, and cooking workshops. In other words, we could start with a broad foundation for the entire department, then fine-tune the information to smaller groups and eventually narrow it down to their individual focus.
For a nutrition program to be successful, firefighters must be willing to act on and apply the knowledge they gain. What contributes most to success is consistency (multiple initiatives and meetings per year), relationship building (learning and improving goals through trust), and application (cooking firefighter-approved recipes).
Patience
Nutrition change within a fire department doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. Find what works for you and your department, stick with it, and emphasize consistency. You will be well on your way to improving the health of your firefighters on a micro and macro level, now and after they retire.
