The Minneapolis Healthy Corner Store Program

Creating a Healthier Minneapolis
healthy eating + physical activity + smoke-free living
The Minneapolis Healthy Corner Store Program14th Annual CFSC: Food Justice CultureAliyah Ali, MPHOctober 20, 2010

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)

Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP)
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)

SHIP: Making the healthy choice the easy choice…
“ It is unreasonable to expect that people will change their behavior easily when so many forces in the environment conspire against such change"
Instituteof Medicine

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%

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

Minneapolis past and present
Mini Farmers Markets
Healthy vending in the parks
Food Preservation Pilot
Homegrown Minneapolis
Corner Stores

Homegrown Minneapolis
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 Examples
Electronic Benefit Transfer at Farmers Markets
Community Garden Pilot
Urban Agriculture Topical Plan

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

Resident’s perspective…
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)

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

The Minneapolis Healthy Corner Store program
Supports owners in making fresh produce and healthy foods more visible, affordable, and attractive to neighborhood residents.

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…
Finding the right consultant
Store recruitment and assessment
Produce procurement and sales and handling training
Interior and exterior display
Marketing and Community Involvement

Where’s Consultant?
Start looking early
Determine what skills you need
Examine non-traditional avenues for partnership

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

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
Signage
PRODUCE DISPLAY
Produce 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

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

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)

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

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 Minneapolis
healthy eating + physical activity + smoke-free living

The Minneapolis Healthy Corner Store Program

by Community Food Security Coalition on Oct 28, 2010

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The Minneapolis Healthy Corner Store Program Presentation Transcript