Jan 3, 2023
By: Krystal Register, MS, RDN, LDN, Senior Director, Health & Well-being, FMI
As we embark on a new year, many of us explore new ways to live healthier, better lives and many of us even make resolutions around food, health, fitness and self-care. This year, as we embrace this fresh opportunity to focus on prevention and overall well-being, perhaps we can lean on everything the grocery store has to offer!
The grocery store has evolved as a true destination for nutrition, health and well-being. With registered dietitians working across the industry, food retailers and food manufacturers deliver on the unique opportunity to provide not only what consumers need, but also to provide good nutrition for everyone. The grocery store is the perfect place to spotlight the role food can play in preventing disease and improving health.
Here are the top five features that make the grocery store a destination for health and well-being:
1. The entire grocery store is full of choice, to include foods and beverages that match the MyPlate food groups. Customers can shop for fruit, veggies, dairy, lean meat, seafood, beans, nuts & seeds, and plant-based oils.
2. There is good nutrition in fruits and vegetables in all forms, and the grocery store makes it easier to include them more often: frozen fruits for dessert, canned veggies and beans for soups and stews, fresh produce for snacking and salads.
3. Supermarkets offer private label items for savings and quality to help customers stock the pantry, fridge and freezer with private label basics, and they continually develop new items that will help save both time and money.
4. The grocery store is a convenient place to add non-food items to support health and well-being goals, offering items like home blood glucose monitors, over-the-counter remedies, and blood pressure cuffs.
5. The grocery store also provides items that help keep food prep safe and easy at home such as food thermometers, separate cutting boards, and containers for storage and freezing.
Some supermarket websites feature offerings by retail registered dietitians to explore, which often include both in-person and virtual classes on nutrition, cooking, health and self-care. Some retail RDNs are in the aisles, both in-store and online, to provide nutrition education and personalized guidance.
Registered dietitians across the industry remind us that healthful choices can be simple and fun, accessible and affordable, convenient and delicious. Discover FMI’s Health and Well-being research and resources online at www.FMI.org/HealthandWellbeing. Cheers to the new year!
