Aria Bloom never expected her colleagues to notice when she started packing clean eating lunches for work. By the second week, however, someone asked, “What is that delicious smell?”

Aria was responding daily enquiries about her food, ingredients, and basic changes she had made not too long ago.

She laughs, saying, “It was never about being the healthiest person in the room. “Instead of crashing from a sugar rush, I just wanted to feel better at 3 p.m.”

Originally a personal wellness change, what began as such gradually spread throughout the office. Aria started posting meal prep ideas, recipes, and even casual lunchtime potlues where the only “rule” was real, unprocessed ingredients.

People loved that it was not about guilt or dieting, she notes. It had to do with feeling good together.

Aria found among surprising things how food drew people closer. Colleagues who hardly spoke before were connecting over grain bowl swaps and smoothie ideas.

Not under pressure but rather out of curiosity, even the vending machine devotees started changing their snacks.