Program boosts healthy snack options

PROVIDENCE – In its second year, the Healthy Corner Store Initiative has increased the number and variety of healthy food options and convenience stores in the region.
To date, it has enrolled 12 stores in the Providence and Pawtucket, with the goal of increasing the availability of healthy snack options for young urban residents.
To encourage participation by stores, the program offers incentives, including free coolers to store fresh fruit cups, as well as one-time donations of other healthier snacks such as trail mix and granola bars.
“Our focus this year is on stocking our participating stores with healthier snacks and convenient fresh fruit cups,” said Amelia Rose, coordinator of the corner store initiative. “Working with elementary schools over the past year we saw kids going to corner stores at least once a day to pick up junk food. We wanted to make healthy options available, convenient, and cheap enough to compete with the junk.”
Roch’s Produce in West Warwick will deliver affordable fruit cups in two sizes to all the healthy corner stores starting the week of Aug. 15 Healthier packaged snacks are coming from Vistar, a nationwide distributor.
“Many stores we’re working with in South Providence and Olneyville do their best to stock fresh produce and healthy ingredients for people to take home to cook with,” said Rose. “We decided that we needed to compete with the convenient packaged stuff to give customers, youth especially, a quick snack option they could take on the go.”