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Adding Dietitians to the Grocery Payroll

Written by RetailWire Staff

Annette Maggi, described by The New York Times as "chairwoman of the supermarket subgroup of the food and culinary professionals practice group at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a consultant to the retail and food manufacturing industries," was recently quoted in the paper saying, "There's been an explosion of interest in having a dietitian among grocery store retailers in the last three or four years."

Hy-Vee, with 235 stores, has a registered dietitian available in almost every location although some serve clusters in rural areas. Following consultations with customers, they walk the aisles indicating appropriate foods, aiming to "capitalize on growing consumer awareness of the role food plays in health and wellness," according to the Times. Produce News adds that store tours enable dietitians to point out healthy alternatives in every department. The nutritional scoring system, NuVal, is also explained, along with the ways it can help people make decisions when shopping on their own.

Chains such as Meijer, Giant Eagle, Bashas and H-E-B also have dietitians and are among some 400 members of Ms. Maggi's group. Wegmans' Jane Andrews was the first dietitian on its staff in 1988; her team is now six strong. At Meijer, activities include "appearances at community events, health assessments with company employees, in-store cooking demonstrations and educational programs on health subjects like diabetes and heart disease."

Printed and internet material are provided as well by dietitians who say retailers are increasingly recognizing their value. Shari Steinbach, lead dietitian at Meijer, cites increased sales for healthier items, appointment requests from customers and conference invitations from manufacturers.

Speaking to Produce News, Allison Yoder of Hy-Vee says the grocer aims to provide "food experiences," encouraging people to join tours that they bump into unexpectedly while shopping. She has noticed "more and more shoppers interested in playing a more active role in the preventative part of health care ... and making a difference in their own health by what they eat."

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