Nebraska Retailers Partner to Offer Healthy Options

LINCOLN, Neb. – At the U-stop convenience store, customers can find candy bars, chips, soft drinks, beer and three baskets with fresh apples, bananas and oranges, the Lincoln Journal-Star reports. “This gives people healthier choices in places that aren’t always known for that,” said Chad Wollan, chief operating officer for Whitehead Oil Company, which owns and operates U-Stop.

Choose Healthy, a pilot program that helps convenience stores in food deserts to stock more healthy options, is working with two Stop ’N Shops and two U-stops. U-stop has been carrying fresh fruit for four years, but the program provided special displays and signage to bring more attention to the healthful offerings.

“Retailers want to play a bigger role in bringing healthy food to neighborhoods, on top of making money,” said Vanessa Wielenga, extension educator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Choose Healthy began in 2016 with a dozen retailers along Interstate 80. The program focuses on five healthy food groups: low-fat dairy, whole grains, lean protein, plain vegetables and no-sugar added fruits. This year, the four Lincoln c-stores joined the pilot program.

The program provides guidance as to the best place for the products and signage to promote the new options. Sometimes, Choose Healthy will hold food demos to show how to prepare the fresh produce.

So far, both Stop ’N Shop and U-stop want to add more locations to the program. “We are experimenting, trying different things. Consumers say they want healthy options. The challenge is finding exactly what healthy choices they will buy,” Wollan said.

Healthy options