HIGHLIGHTING HEALTHY FOOD
- Incorporating healthy foods into your diet helps you achieve or maintain a healthy weight. It also reduces the risk of chronic disease and improves overall wellness.
- To promote healthy eating in your community, partner with local food stores to encourage the consumption of healthy foods.
- By encouraging food stores to place nutritious foods in visible areas, you take a step to help residents make healthier choices while grocery shopping.
- Stores should also put nutritional information in plain view so shoppers are more aware of what they are buying and eating.
FOLLOW THEIR LEAD!
In 2012, Paramus hosted a Supermarket Sweep in their local Whole Foods. The grocery store invited students to a healthy shopping tutorial. Attendees were taught how to shop for healthy foods and the choices they have.
ACTION STEPS
Get in Touch
- Contact your local food stores and ask them to join your wellness campaign activities around nutrition.
- Provide a brief description of your goals and ask for their ideas.
- Consider holding a conference call with all participating food stores to discuss their ideas and to begin the conversation.
- Recruit participants from large and small food markets. Don’t forget to include your local convenience stores and gas stations as well.
- Connect local farms with smaller stores to ensure produce is offered in all neighborhoods.
Set up Nutritional Information
- With your local grocery stores, make signs to spotlight nutritious foods.
- Information might include calories, vitamins and health benefits.
- Work collaboratively to bring produce to the front of the store.
- Ask food stores to consider these healthy merchandising tips.
Highlight for Healthy Alternatives
- Prepare literature with healthy choices and recipes to distribute at the partnering stores.
- Consult information provided by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Information Center.
- Lead a shopping trip explaining how to shop for healthy foods, using WebMD’s 10 tips for healthy grocery shopping.
- Because older people have different nutritional needs, ask seniors if they want to participate in a senior-specific healthy shopping day.
- Seniors can also refer to these Food and Drug Administration tips.
Demonstrate to Inspire
- Find community partners who are willing to jointly organize healthy cooking demonstrations. For more information on how to organize a healthy cooking demonstration reference the Mayors Wellness Campaign Healthy Cook Off tool.
- For example, consider partnering with local gyms that already offer nutritional education to help you run these events in your local food stores.
MORE RESOURCES
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
United States Department of Agriculture MyPlate Tool