WASHINGTON - Walmart teamed up with First Lady Michelle Obama yesterday to unveil a comprehensive effort to provide healthier and more affordable food choices.

Five elements of the program include:

1. Reformulating thousands of everyday packaged food items by 2015 by reducing sodium 25 percent and added sugars 10 percent, and by removing all remaining industrially produced trans fats.
2. Making healthier choices more affordable, saving customers approximately $1 billion per year on fresh fruits and vegetables through a variety of sourcing, pricing, and transportation and logistics initiatives that will drive unnecessary costs out of the supply chain.
3. Developing strong criteria for a simple front-of-package seal that will help consumers instantly identify healthier food options such as whole grain cereal, whole wheat pasta or unsweetened canned fruit;
4. Providing solutions to address food deserts by building stores in underserved communities that are in need of fresh and affordable groceries; and
5. Increasing charitable support for nutrition programs that help educate consumers about healthier food solutions and choices.

"No family should have to choose between food that is healthier for them and food they can afford," said Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. "With more than 140 million customer visits each week, Walmart is uniquely positioned to make a difference by making food healthier and more affordable to everyone. We are committed to working with suppliers, government and non-governmental organizations to provide solutions that help Americans eat healthier and live a better life."????

This program builds on the success of the First Lady??s "Let??s Move" campaign to make healthy choices more convenient and affordable for families.????

The company has also made it a business priority to find innovative ways to provide fresh and affordable groceries to people in urban and rural communities across America who are living in so-called food deserts.????

NACS Nutrition Campaign
To help retailers maintain a healthier profile, NACS has created a Nutrition Campaign Committee aimed at bringing together the best strategies for retailers to diversify into healthier options ?" without alienating the core, quick-snack customers who are the convenience industry??s bread and butter.

The campaign??s task force is comprised of both industry retailers and suppliers and is focused on providing retailers with tools for highlighting "better for you" options and offering marketing and communications help. The good news from the task force??s initial work is that most convenience stores already stock a variety of healthier options; it??s just a matter of making their availability known.

For more information please contact Julie Fields, director of government relations, at (703) 518-4251 or jfields@nacsonline.com.

Also, be on the lookout for the February NACS Magazine cover story, "Unwrap Nutrition," for more on how growing consumer demand for good-for-you foods ?" and more importantly, increasing regulations ?" will require convenience stores to promote a healthier image.