Shoppers at a local grocery in Durham will have the option of checking out at an aisle filled with healthy snack choices. So instead of lollipops and candy bars, last minute purchases at Los Primos Market might include apples, raisins or yogurt. Erica Samoff coordinates Partnership for a Healthy Durham, a community coalition that's collaborating with the East Durham Children's Initiative.
“And our goal is to make healthy choices easy choices,” Samoff says. “So we're making available a checkout aisle in this market where when you stand in the aisle and you get a little hungry and your stomach grumbles, what your hand reaches for is something healthy, not candy.”
Samoff says a side benefit is that parents won't have to deal as much with whiny toddlers. Shoppers will be asked to complete surveys, and sales data will be tracked to gauge whether or not patrons are, in fact, making healthier choices.
Similar projects have been tried successfully in West Virginia, California, and Ohio.