Better food equals better sales growth for supermarkets, shows recent studies. Selling lower calorie foods or healthier foods, may actually be good for supermarket's business goals. A study done over four years by Hudson Institute has researched the link between low-calorie foods and the sales of supermarkets, restaurants and some food companies. Their research has shown that these markets benefit financially when selling more low-calorific foods. Food deserts, where many Latinos live, even show growth in sales for lower calorie intake, as shown from the study's graphic below. There is still need for more healthy options in food deserts, and food marketers are still spending millions on ads that target Latino youth with high-sugar and high-fat foods. To find out more ...
For many folks living in Lakewood, Colorado, a small city near Denver, a quick trip to the grocery store to buy fresh, healthy produce just isn't a reality. Between West 17th and West Arkansas avenues, a 31 block stretch, families in this area are forced to buy groceries at the dollar store---a large grocery store does not exist. However, Lakewood is in the midst of an effort to make life easier for families in this area. The city, in partnership with LiveWell Colorado, is assessing how accessible healthy food is to its nearly 150,000 residents. Latinos make up 22% of residents in Lakewood. The City is encouraging residents to fill out a healthy foods survey online. The deadline to fill out the 10-minute questionnaire is Friday May 29. Results will be released in ...
The area along Murchison Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina hasn't seen a full-service grocery store in years, leaving folks who live and work in the area little options for fresh fruits and vegetables. But city officials are taking notice and plans are in the works to get healthy and affordable food options into the community. According to an article in the Fayetteville Observer, City officials say a Walmart with a full-service grocery store is planned to fill an empty spot in a strip center where a Winn-Dixie operated more than 20 years ago. The Walmart Market is expected to be 41,000 square feet and will include gas pumps. No construction date is set at the moment, but according to the article the Walmart will employ more than 90 people when ...
With all the Smart Snack changes rolling out in schools nationwide this fall, attention may begin to turn to what kids are buying at the grocery store. One food company is making major improvements in what they offer and how they market it to kids. Giant Eagle is in the process of installing the go-to kid sections, labeled "Kids' Healthy Snack Zone," in about 400 stores in the mid-Atlantic and Ohio. And Walmart is piloting the concept in 30 stores in California, with plans to roll it out to 1,500 stores later this fall. Bolthouse Farms is responsible for making this effort in grocery stores throughout the US. They are the same company that released the extreme baby carrot campaign, which marketed ranch and chili-lime dusted carrots as go-to snacks for kids. The company has been ...
Check out a new video that shows how a Latino, Albert Rodriguez, brought healthier food to his community of Highland Falls, New York. The community, which is about 19% Latino, lacks access to healthy food. Rodriguez' MyTown Marketplace grocery store, got a grant for the store, and it offers food, including much fresh produce and a salad bar, to the local residents. "Food is a necessity. It's not a luxury. You know, it's not a want. You need food," Albert Rodriguez, owner of MyTown Marketplace. "Any community, I think, needs a grocery store." The video was produced by the Food ...
When a small grocery store in York, PA closed in order to make way for more affordable housing, the neighborhood was left without a local shop to buy fruit and vegetables. Two years later, the small store is opening for business inside the housing property, giving low-income folks who live there and nearby a place to get fresh, healthy produce. Green Food Market is set to open this weekend in a city where almost 30% of residents are Latino. Larry Richardson, president of the Y Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit affiliated with the York YMCA, said that his group is working with local health experts and the owner of Green Food Market to stock the corner store with healthy options. Richardson, who is also president and CEO of YMCA of York and York County, said his ...
In South Sacramento many families, including Latino families, don't have easy access to full-service grocery stores, leaving them with few healthy food options. The Sacramento County Health Department is partnering with a local developer and a Shell gas station in South Sacramento to build a convenience store inside the gas station that would sell fresh fruits, vegetables, and more. According to a local government news site, fifteen percent of the retail space in the convenience store will display fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and potentially, healthy meats such as fish. These foods will be displayed in the front of the store, near the check-out stand, where patrons will see ...
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides low-income moms with young children and moms-to-be with nutrition education, health care referrals, and vouchers for food. Latinos make-up 41 percent of WIC participants nationwide. The guidelines for buying food with WIC benefits can be tricky, and that's one of the reasons Andrea Little says she and her classmate at the University of Southern Florida and business partner Hector Angus wanted to open 1Apple Grocery in Plant City, Florida. In Plant City, almost 20% of the population is Latino. Besides helping to bring healthy food access to the community, Little and Angus say they wanted to make it easier for WIC participants to purchase nutritious food that followed federal ...
When a large grocery store closed in Southeast Raleigh, the community was left with few places to buy fresh produce. Banding together to brainstorm solutions, the Fertile Ground Food Cooperative was born. Fertile Ground Food Cooperative is a Southeast Raleigh-based multi-stakeholder cooperative that highlights the community’s entrepreneurial spirit, helps create pathways to living-wage jobs, increases access to healthy/affordable food, and fosters collective ownership. Board members gathered information and researched cooperatives during 2012. In early 2013, the founders settled on creating a cooperative in which producers, consumers and workers play equal roles. The co-op will be opening up for membership at the end of July 2014. Membership is $100 and can be paid in ...
