Food allergies | WELL Standard

#25396 - If a project does not sell or provide food and beverages on a daily basis, which Nourishment features are applicable and will contribute to the project's scorecard?

If a project does not sell or provide food and beverages on a daily basis, it is considered in compliance with the Nourishment precondition features 38-40 (and 43-44 when designated as preconditions) and is considered not having achieved optimization features 47 and 49 (and 43-44 when designated as optimizations). To demonstrate compliance, projects should simply add a note to explain their lack of daily food and beverage offerings within the 'Notes' column of the project checklist.

Note that all Nourishment optimizations will still appear on the project scorecard and contribute to the denominator when calculating scoring.

#25395 - The project has food delivered twice a week to the building, and the occupants consume the food throughout the week. As project owners, is this classified as providing food on a daily basis?

Yes, foods and beverages are considered to be provided on a daily basis if they are available to occupants each day. This is irrespective of the frequency of delivery.

#24889 - My project has foods prepared on site. Does it have to meet the listed requirements?

Yes, all foods and beverages that are sold and provided must comply with the requirements. This includes packaged and prepared items, as well as all items in vending machines.

#24750 - My project only provides fresh fruits and vegetables and/or coffee and milk. Would we need to meet the WELL requirements?

Yes, if any food is provided to occupants, the food allergen labeling requirements need to be met for these items. For example, when coffee and milk are provided, milk would need to be labeled for allergens. Visible nutrition fact labels can be used to comply with allergen labeling, or if milk is served in a carafe, it should be labeled as milk.

#24495 - In our C&S project we are not providing any food or vending machines. Could these features be considered not applicable?

If the project owner of the Core & Shell project pursuing WELL certification does not sell or distribute food, or provide vending machines within the building, feature 39 and 40 are considered out of scope.

#24496 - How should food labeling be done for food items packaged and prepared on site?

Foods and beverages prepared or packaged on site can utilize menu boards and signage at the point of decision to convey the nutrition and allergy information criteria. Foods and beverages packaged onsite can also decide to add this information to the packing instead.

#24498 - In a country where food labeling required by the WELL Building Standard is not part of local code, how can projects comply with the labeling requirements?

The food and beverage labeling requirements are applicable to all projects regardless of local code, however a project team may submit an Alternative Adherence Path (AAP) for review if they believe the labeling provided by the project meets the intent of the feature. The project team may need to conduct their own analysis of the food and beverages being provided to confirm nutritional information.

#24487 - In a Core and Shell project with both office tenants and retail/restaurant tenants who will be serving food within their respective spaces, will these tenants need to comply with the Nourishment feature requirements?

No, the Nourishment requirements are only applicable to food provided by the project owner or provided by a vendor who is under contract with the project owner, which for a Core and Shell project the project owner is the building developer. Tenants within the building do not need to meet these requirements.

If the tenant decided to pursue the New and Existing Interiors or the Retail Pilot certification, then the Nourishment feature requirements would be applicable.

#24488 - My project is not located in the United States. How does the WELL Building Standard address the nourishment category for countries that not include the United States with different cultural meal practices?

IWBI recognizes the various cultural differences in meal practices and therefore recommends the project to submit an Alternative Adherence Path (AAP) to confirm the project meets the feature intent for the Nourishment concept. In addition, please review the already accepted AAP's for each nourishment feature.

#24489 - Please further describe the types of food programs that would be considered "sold or provided on a daily basis on the premises by (or under contract with) the project owner."

This includes all foods and beverages supplied by the project owner, or by a vendor under contract with the owner, including items sold or provided in the cafeteria, in vending machines, at a coffee bar and items available to occupants in the kitchen/pantry area.

#24490 - In my project, the kitchen where food is prepared is located in an existing building outside of my project boundary, however the eating area where food is served is located within the project area. Are the WELL Nourishment concept requirements applicable for the project?

Yes, if the food served in the eating area is provided daily under the direction of the owner, all of the Nourishment preconditions need to be met by the project regardless of where the food is prepared.

If no food is sold or served within the eating area or break area, most of the Nourishment precondition features would be considered out of scope. However, features 41 and 45 may still be applicable to the project.

#24491 - The project has catering for special events but not on a daily basis. Do the WELL Nourishment features apply to this catering?

No, if food is not catered on a daily basis, most of the Nourishment features are considered out of scope. However, Features 41 and 45 may be applicable to the project.