Corner stores get healthful makeovers

The owner of a corner grocery store in Minneapolis' Phillips neighborhood could teach New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg a thing or two about healthful eating.

Bloomberg recently suggested that federal authorities prohibit the use of EBT/food stamps to buy soda pop and other sugared drinks to reduce obesity among the poor. Aside from being insulting, the measure is silly, unless the mayor has plans for tackling 24/7 "fat-food" options, sedentary lifestyles, a dearth of sidewalks and declining physical education in schools, challenges that put all our children on a dangerous trajectory to obesity.

That's why I'm rooting for Mohammed Wadi, owner of Cedar Food & Grill in Phillips, as well as the entire Healthy Corner Store Program, which launched this month. The Minneapolis effort, part of the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP), is working wisely to combat obesity and chronic diseases in high-poverty pockets by reaching people where they are physically and financially.

The strategy seems simple on the surface. Countless cheery "Fresh Produce" signs draw customers to once meat-heavy displays now overflowing with baskets of broccoli, precut carrots and fat stalks of celery, protein drinks and V8, lean ground beef and low-fat cheeses. Boxes of oatmeal nearby are partnered with bananas.

Additionally, tiered baskets offer customers meal-planning ideas. Today, one basket holds options for a stir fry, with onions, brown rice and teriyaki sauce to add to one's choice of meat. Another basket has taco seasoning, salsa, a can of refried beans and a perfectly ripe avocado.

The section is strategically placed in a corner of the store through which 90 percent of customers pass on their way to buying milk and other staples. Point-of-purchase baskets offer oranges, apples and grab-and-go peanut butter. Chips and pop? Way in the back.

"It's capitalizing on what they already have," said Aliyah Ali, SHIP project specialist. "A lot of corner stores had shelving, refrigerators or coolers. We're just providing help to better display their produce and signage, and to facilitate necessary partnerships."

One key partnership is with vendors, a relationship that presented big headaches for small shops. Wadi said he was forced to buy produce from volume wholesalers, hiking prices beyond what his customers could afford. Much of the food ended up being thrown away. With the city's help, he now partners with smaller-scale Bix Produce Co., which sells him just what he needs, passing on freshness and lower prices to his 500 or so daily customers, many from nearby Little Earth.

"Now," Wadi said proudly, "we're priced comparable to Cub."

The program arose after the Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support analyzed 35 inner-city stores and found that 36 percent of them had no fresh produce. Among the rest, produce was limited, expensive or often difficult to find. Aside from being unhealthy, the stores were not complying with the city's Staple Foods Ordinance, which requires grocers to carry at least five types of perishable produce. Now they comply, and more.

The launch in north Minneapolis, Phillips and Seward, among other neighborhoods, continues in December, with food tastings and demonstrations centered on how to create healthy meals on a budget. Flag Foods, near Roosevelt High School, will celebrate its new look Dec. 10, by featuring health career students who helped to redesign the store.

Similar projects have taken shape in Philadelphia and New York, but the Minneapolis effort is unique for its stunning lack of red tape, said project partner Christina Nicholson.

'A big job'

But Wadi, a trim 49-year-old, knows what he's up against. A young couple pushes their toddler through his store's aisles, putting a bag of Cheetos in her hands. "They love greasy food, sugary food," he said. "This area [of town], they don't know anything about healthy food. It's a big job."

The Healthy Corner Store Program runs through next June, at which time officials will measure whether sales of healthful foods are catching on. If so, they'll consider expanding citywide, a good idea since we all could use some help in this department.

"Customers are very happy to see more variety of foods," Wadi said. "Hopefully, it will work."