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Healthy Corner Store Initiative
Youth derive a large proportion of their total energy from high-fat snack foods. Researchers estimate that snacks provide approximately 610 calories to teenagers’ diets each day. And the percentage of calories derived from snack foods is on the rise as the average number of daily snacks eaten by teens hasincreased by 25% since 1977. Here in Philadelphia , elementary school students report that they visit corner stores daily, spending up to $2 per visit on foods high in fat and sugar: chips, candy, soda, French fries, and hamburgers. The Food Trust is working collaboratively with corner store owners to promote healthier snack choices to young people.
Development of the Healthy Corner Store Initiative
The Healthy Corner Store Initiative seeks to be an active partner in changing the food landscape in low-income Philadelphia communities. This innovative approach encompasses environmental change, social marketing, nutrition education in local schools, technical training and assistance with corner stores, and research in order to reduce the incidence of diet-related disease and obesity in our communities.
Snackin' Fresh Social Marketing Campaign
The Snackin’ Fresh social marketing campaign educates, engages, and energizes youth about healthy snack options. Using a multi-faceted approach, the Snackin’ Fresh campaign empowers youth to be a driving force for healthy changes in their neighborhoods. Through community mapping and video making, advocating to corner store owners and planning a city-wide Snackin’ Fresh Summit, neighborhood youth facilitate each step in the Snackin’ Fresh campaign.
Stores
A goal of The Healthy Corner Store Initiative is to promote the financial viability of fresh fruit for store owners. In order to ease the introduction of these new products, The Food Trust will provide stores with refrigerated barrels to stock and display fruit. The Food Trust will supply fresh-cut, single-serving packages of fruit to corner stores. Store owners will also be provided with marketing materials to advertise the new products. With an estimated profit margin goal of 40 ¢ per package, corner stores will be able to earn much more through fruit sales than their typical 6 ¢ profit with chips and other packaged snacks. Beginning with a 2008 summer pilot in three stores and the addition of 11 more in September ‘08, 14 corner stores throughout Philadelphia will begin offering fresh fruit options to customers. The pilot program allows youth to see the impact of their advocacy efforts.
Research
Funded through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Eating Research grant, Temple University’s Center for Obesity Research and Education (CORE) is conducting a randomized controlled trial in 10 low-income communities to evaluate the impact of snack purchases in corner stores on student’s snacking behavior, caloric consumption from corner store purchases and Body Mass Indexes (BMI). CORE evaluates environmental change and conducts focus groups to study the snacking behavior of young people. This research enables the Trust to both help store owners make the changes their young customers most want to see and measures the effects of the Healthy Corner Store Initiative.aaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Education
The Food Trust works to reinforce messages about healthy eating and to ensure that foods offered in Philadelphia schools promote good nutrition and contribute to the development of lifelong, healthy eating habits. The Food Trust works with teachers and staff to educate parents about the value of school meals and the importance of encouraging their children to make healthy food choices on the way to and from school and during the school day. Through the Healthy Corner Store Initiative, The Food Trust also hosts school-wide taste tests and events to generate excitement around the Snackin’ Fresh concept.
Healthy Community Stores National Network
The Healthy Corner Stores Network promotes efforts to bring healthier foods into corner stores in low-income and underserved communities nation-wide. Led by the Community Food Security Coalition, The Food Trust, and Public Health Law & Policy, the Healthy Corner Store Network (HCSN) brings together community members, local government staff, nonprofits, funders, and others across the country to share best practices, lessons learned, and new approaches to common challenges.
To learn more about the network, visit www.healthycornerstores.org