A CENTURY OF WELLNESS Caring for What Matters Most By Beth Sims, Manager, Health and Wellness, Pinnacle Claims Management, Inc.
One hundred years. When I really sit with that number, it doesn’t just feel historic; it feels like looking at an old black-and-white photograph. I imagine families gathered around kitchen tables with home-cooked meals being passed around. Simple moments that probably didn’t feel extraordinary at the time, but meant everything. I find myself reflecting on how wellness and the healthy foods that support it have remained central to our story from the very beginning. Wellness Then and Now Of course, wellness looked a little different 100 years ago. There were no fitness trackers counting steps. No smoothies photographed on Instagram. No podcasts reminding us to hydrate. If someone in 1926 talked about “core strength,” they probably meant working the fields from sunrise to sunset. Back then, wellness looked like home-cooked meals made from simple ingredients. It looked like fresh air,
early nights and food that came straight from the land, not a label. Wellness wasn’t something that was talked about often, it was simply lived, in long days spent caring for the land and feeding communities. Even portion sizes told a story. Plates 100 years ago, and even through the 60s and 70s, looked different than they do today. Meals were simpler, portions were smaller and produce often took up more space on the plate. Food was satisfying, but it was also balanced, rooted in what was available, seasonal and home-prepared. Today, meals may look different than they once did, but the importance of fresh, thoughtfully grown food remains just as strong and the work that begins in the fields still plays the most important role in nourishing our communities. Today, wellness comes with apps, wearable devices and more information than we sometimes know what to do with. We talk about gut health, mindfulness and balanced lifestyles. We read labels more closely. We try new recipes. We look for ways to feel better and stay energized.
18 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com April – June 2026
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