Your first choice for healthy food options may not bring you to gas station.
Now, thanks to a 1.8 million dollar state grant, you will find displays in some West
Virginia stores.
"They're starting to and
we've had some good feedback on it," said Sue Casto.
Marmet Little General Store Manager Sue Casto is talking about this equipment
made for healthy food options.
The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department placed it there with money from the grant.
Some shoppers like the idea.
"As a matter of fact, you probably wont
believe this but I was just thinking about carrots coming up the road, I buy
them often," said Gene Adkins.
Not everyone is buying the idea.
"I don't think its going to work because it's a gas
station and I think most people are stopping for a soda and chips, quick
things," said Donna Pallazola.
I took her concern to Kanawha-Charleston Health Department.
"When you do social experimentation, when you do community-level
work, there are going to be things that work, there are going to be things that
don't work, but if you sit back and criticize everything, then nothing works," said Executive Director Dr. Rahul Gupta.
Kanawha-Charleston Health Department serves 9 southern
counties including Kanawha, Raleigh
and Greenbrier.
The grant provides around $300,000 a year for its counties.
$10,000 is set aside to help put healthier food choices in
stores.
Stores on-board with the program also signed contracts
agreeing to sell healthy foods in the cooler while health department officials oversee the process.
"Why not offer it, if you don't offer it, you don't know if they will
buy it or not," said Dr. Gupta.
State officials hope offering healthier food in these unusual places will lead
to a healthier West Virginia.
The state is in its the second year of the grant from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The
Kananwha-Charleston Health department has been trying out the healthy checkout
aisle and convenience store initiative for a month.
They
will monitor data over time to see if it's working.
A recent poll placed Ohio at 35th in the nation when it comes to health, Kentucky came in 44th place.
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