the minneapolis healthy corner store program

The Minneapolis Healthy Corner Store Program

14th Annual CFSC: Food Justice CultureAliyah Ali, MPHOctober 20, 2010

Creating a Healthier Minneapolishealthy eating + physical activity + smoke-free living

Overview

• Minneapolis overview

• Obesity Prevention in Minneapolis

• Past, Present + Future: The Minneapolis Healthy Corner Store Program

About Minneapolis

•Total Population: 382,618 (2000)•Diverse community + large immigrant populations•High rates of health disparities and inequities in our communities of color

Obesity in Minneapolis

• Obesity rates are higher:- Among communities of color - In neighborhoods of

concentrated poverty • U.S. born blacks and Hispanics/Latinos have highest obesity rates in Minneapolis (SHAPE 2006)

• Part of the 2008 MN Health Care Reform Act

• Statewide effort to help residents live longer, better, healthier lives by reducing the burden of chronic illnesses

• 2 grants to Minneapolis totaling $2.6 million to reduce obesity and tobacco use

• Shift from traditional public health model (program vs policy)

Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP)

“ It is unreasonable to expect that people will change their behavior easily when so many forces in the environment conspire against such

change"

Institute of Medicine

SHIP: Making the healthy choice the easy

choice…

Guiding principles

• Focus on communities of need• Affect multiple environments:

– Daycares, parks, housing complexes, neighborhoods, schools, worksites, corner stores

• Change food environments through following approaches:

– practices, availability, affordability, opportunity

Pop Quiz!

• According to the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), what percent of adults in Minneapolis consume the recommended # of servings of fruits and vegetables per day?

• 12.2%• 30.5%• 48.0%• 86.7%

Pop Quiz!

• According to the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), what percent of adults in Minneapolis consume the recommended # of servings of fruits and vegetables per day?

• 12.2%• 30.5%• 48.0%• 86.7%

So… what’s the problem?

• Lack of access to healthy foods: food deserts• Over-abundance of fast foods & convenience foods• Transportation barriers• Lack of access to physical activity•Affordability of fresh food

Minneapolis: The lay of the land

•Mini Farmers Markets

•Healthy vending in the parks

•Food Preservation Pilot

•Homegrown Minneapolis

•Corner Stores

Minneapolis past and present

A city-wide initiative to develop recommendations and implement strategies to improve the growth, sales, distribution, and consumption of healthy, locally grown foods.

Homegrown Minneapolis

• Electronic Benefit Transfer at Farmers Markets

• Community Garden Pilot

• Urban Agriculture Topical Plan

Homegrown Minneapolis Examples

Taking a closer look at corner stores

We know that they are everywhere…

We also know…

•Families often depend on corner stores for grocery needs

• Corner stores often have limited healthy food choices

•Stores are required to carry minimum variety of healthy foods

–Staple Foods Ordinance

–2009 WIC changes

Quick history lesson…2008 Minneapolis Staple Foods Ordinance

• (c)   All grocery stores licensed under this chapter must offer for sale food for home preparation and consumption, on a continuous basis, at least three (3) varieties of qualifying, non-expired or spoiled, food in each of the following four (4) staple food groups, with at least five (5) varieties of perishable food in the first category and at least two (2) varieties of perishable food in all subsequent categories:

• (1)   Vegetables and/or fruits.• (2)   Meat, poultry, fish and/or vegetable proteins.• (3)   Bread and/or cereal.• (4)   Dairy products and/or substitutes

Staple Foods Ordinance: Unexpected Impetus?

• Spearheaded by Licensing Department

• Crime prevention strategy– Enhance outer appearance

of the store– Staple Foods = Expansion

of Customer Base

• Food access issue for Health Department

Staple Foods: Enforcement

• Enforced by licensing department– Less punitive

• Approximately 47 violations– Warning + education

• Follow-up inspection– Stores generally in compliance– Compliance super awesome produce

• Inspectors recognize support for owners needed

Fast Forward to now-ish…

• Cstore Assessments– Conducted by the Health Department

• Focused in North Minneapolis– low-income– two full-scale grocery stores– complimented a larger food assessment

• Two-phased – Visual assessment – Owner Interview

Visual Assessment (n=35)– 72% not in compliance with

produce component of Staple Foods Ordinance

– 34% didn’t carry any fresh produce

– Most commonly stocked produce include: onions, potatoes, bananas, and lemons/or limes

– Produce was often found on the bottom of shelves, refrigeration cases, or beverage coolers

Owner interviews (n=22)

– 55% were aware of the Staple Foods Ordinance– Most store owners indicated that customers rarely

come in for staple foods such as produce, milk, and eggs

– Owners need assistance related to produce marketing and education such as:• Sourcing• In-store displays• Handling• Promotional materials such as signage and recipe

cards• Loans/grants to upgrade equipment

• Most prefer fresh produce over canned•40% of Near North residents having access to a vehicle•Residents gave low ratings to availability and quality of fresh produce at corner stores – locations that were reportedly easiest to access•Unimpressed by cstore produce

– High cost

– Low quality

– Lack of freshness

•Owners vs resident’s quite the conundrum!

(Source: Northside Healthy Eating Project)

Resident’s perspective…

Challenges

• Staple Foods compliance & enforcement

• Lack of support for owners

• Connecting residents

to the stores

So, what did others do?

• Researching corner store programs and resources (other cities, HCSN, market makeovers)

• Common healthy corner store program components:– Store assessments– Procuring affordable produce– Signage and pricing– Store improvements (internal and external)– Community engagement

Supports owners in making fresh produce and healthy

foods more visible, affordable, and attractive to neighborhood

residents.

The Minneapolis Healthy Corner Store

program

Quick Snapshot…

• 10 partner stores have agreed to:– Increase inventory of produce– Display Healthy Corner Store marketing

materials within the store– Document and sharing sales records of

healthy foods– Attend a produce handling training

• Implementation completed December

Benefits to stores

• Store assistance entails:– Identifying goals, opportunities, and strategies for

increasing sales of healthy foods– Strategically display fresh produce and healthy foods– Displaying in-store promotional materials highlighting

healthy foods – Purchasing, pricing and stocking healthy foods

affordably– Developing a financial system to help track and

monitor sales of healthy foods

Breaking down the process…

Produce procurement and sales and handling

training

Interior and exterior display

Marketing and Community Involvement

Store recruitment and assessment

Finding the right consultant

Where’s Consultant?

• Start looking early

• Determine what skills you need

• Examine non-traditional avenues for partnership

Breaking down the process…

Produce procurement and sales and handling

training

Interior and exterior display

Marketing and Community Involvement

Finding the right consultant

Store recruitment and assessment

Selection of Stores

• Criteria for store selection

• City Council Approval• Application Developed

– Mailed to 90 stores– 15 applicants

• 10 stores selected• Memorandum of

understanding• Store introductions

Minneapolis Healthy Corner Store Program Application

T Thank you for your interest in applying for the Minneapolis Healthy Corner Store Program. Please take a moment to fill out this application and return by Tuesday, May 25, 2010, to the MDHFS Healthy Corner Store Program at 250 S 4th Street, Room 510, Minneapolis, MN 55415. The City of Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support (MDHFS) will select 10 stores to participate in this program. If you have any questions, please contact Aliyah Ali at 612-673-3861 or aliyah.ali@ci.minneapolis.mn.us. Store Background

Store Name: Owner Name (main contact):

Address Phone:

Email:

Please check yes or no for the following questions: Yes No

Do you accept EBT (food stamps)

Do you accept WIC?

Are you willing to increase your stock of fresh fruits and vegetables?

Are you willing to increase your stock of whole grain products?

Are you willing to increase your stock of low-fat and/or skim dairy products?

Are willing to track sales of fresh produce and healthy foods?

Store Assessments

• Visual assessment– Healthy foods pricing and placement– Signage– Overall sense of store layout

• Owner Interview– Experience carrying produce– Procurement and pricing of produce– Customer demand– Mechanism for owner engagement

• Customer Survey

FINDINGS: VISUAL ASSESSMENT

PRODUCE DISPLAYSignageProduce Handling

Results: Owner Interview

• Produce primarily purchased from other grocery stores

• Nominal revenue from healthy foods

• Produce display and handling support needed

• Immense appreciation coupled with mild skepticism

Breaking down the process…

Interior and exterior display

Marketing and Community Involvement

Finding the right consultant

Store recruitment and assessment

Produce procurement and sales and handling

training

Show me the produce!

• Recap: the problem• Sleuthing out opportunities• Ultimate goal = affordable produce for

residents• Capitalizing on existing distribution

mechanisms vs developing a new system

Show me the produce!

• Met with area wholesalers– Received pricing lists– Negotiated additional support

• Determined core list of items• Options presented to store owners

– Bix Produce selected: better pricing+0 distribution costs = affordable produce

Produce sales and handling training

• Training activities– Introduce store owners– Warehouse tour– Handling practices of core items– Pricing produce– Sales tracking

• Stores receive $200 credit for first produce purchase

Breaking down the process…

Marketing and Community Involvement

Finding the right consultant

Store recruitment and assessment

Produce procurement and sales and handling

training

Interior and exterior display

Interior/exterior display

• Healthy foods display– Display baskets– Visible veggies– Priced produce– 3 core items: grab and

go, meal options, combining wic-able items

• Signage (indoor and outdoor)

Breaking down the process…

Finding the right consultant

Store recruitment and assessment

Produce procurement and sales and handling

training

Interior and exterior display

Marketing and Community Involvement

Involving the community

• Primarily through marketing activities– Store “kick-off”– Taste testing sessions– Food demos– Newspaper advertising

• Youth Participation– North Minneapolis YMCA– Roosevelt High School

Breaking down the process…

Finding the right consultant

Store recruitment and assessment

Produce procurement and sales and handling

training

Interior and exterior display

Marketing and Community Involvement

Project evaluation

• Not just about # of stores

• Tracking sales of produce

• Before and after photos to document space allocated to produce

Looking ahead

• Incremental approach• Exploring other ideas

– Façade improvements– Incorporating locally grown

and/or organic produce– Expanding the project

• Continuing technical assistance• Project expansion contingent on funding

Revisiting SHIP

• Focus on communities of need• Affect multiple environments:

– Daycares, parks, housing complexes, neighborhoods, schools, worksites, corner stores

• Change food environments through following approaches:

– practices, availability, affordability, opportunity

Discussion Questions

• Are you working (or plan to work) with corner stores in your community?

• Describe what you are doing.

• What has been your biggest success?

• What has been your biggest challenge?

Acknowledgements

• Minnesota Department of Health

• Northpoint Health and Wellness Center

• Hennepin County through the Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthy Eating MN Grant

Contact Information

Aliyah Ali, MPH

Minneapolis Statewide Health Improvement Program

aliyah.ali@ci.minneapolis.mn.us

612-673-3861

Creating a Healthier Minneapolishealthy eating + physical activity + smoke-free living