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Can Retailers Create Wealth From Health?
Furthering the dialogue of promoting the industry’s greatest weapon. BY MINDY HERMANN
LET US KNOW
WHAT YOU THINK.
We invite the industry to continue this conversation with an open forum in the pages of Produce Business.
Your comments, sent to Editor@ProduceBusiness.com, will be published in subsequent issues of the magazine.
Given the public’s seemingly boundless enthusiasm for healthier lifestyles, consumption of fresh fruits and vegeta- bles should be on the rise. Yet, consumers still don’t eat 5 A
Day, the original recommendation of the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH). In fact, “per capita fruit and vegetable consump- tion (excluding fried potatoes) declined 5 percent through 2014, for an average of 1.68 cups per day,” acccording the National Fruit & Vegetable Alliance, a coalition of public and private part- ners working to increase nationwide access to all forms of fruit and vegetables. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 12.2 percent of adults meet the daily fruit intake recommendation, and 9.3 percent of adults meet the daily vege- table intake recommendation.
Proactive chains such as Whole Foods Market, Sprouts,
PHOTO COURTESY OF WAKEFERN
Hy-Vee, Lucky’s Market, The Fresh Market and Coborn’s are often mentioned by sources in this article as stand-out examples promoting the wellness message in their produce departments. Do midscale and discount retailers have the same commitment to their customers, especially given the fact price is often cited as a barrier to healthier eating?
Mike Roberts, director of produce operations for Harps Food Stores, in Springdale, AR, says retailers do have a duty to promote healthy eating. Harps, which operates 87 stores in Arkansas, Okla- homa, Kansas and Missouri, has experienced success participating in programs, including the Double Up Food Bucks program, which is part of the government’s Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Prod- gram that encourages SNAP participants to buy fresh produce.
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Participating in Produce for Kids programs, which educate