A convenience store might not be the first place you think of when you want a nutritious snack, but this is exactly where Fraser Health is starting a program to promote healthy food choices.
Bee’s on Wallace Street will be the first business in the Valley to have signs pointing shoppers in the direction of healthier foods.
“We really wanted to go with a convenience store,” public health officer Michael Schwandt said.
“A lot of grocery stores do have healthy choice aisles or options that are looking more at whole foods, organics and so forth. But we do know that a large amount of people’s food choices do come in more of a convenience setting.”
Starting in a convenience store, Schwandt said the program could be very effective in helping shoppers figure out which products are best for their health.
“It’s a setting where there’s both a high risk of purchasing some of the riskier things, because those can be environments where people are relatively swamped with less healthy choices, and therefore a big chance to intervene and try to indicate that there are often healthier choices right there.”
Schwandt says programs similar to this one – for example stocking checkout aisles with healthy foods and menu labeling – have worked in other places.
