The Blue Zones checkout lane features items such as fresh fruit, granola bars, seeds, nuts and other healthy snacks rather than the candy, gum and other items sold at the typical front-end.
Amy Pleimling, a dietitian with Hy-Vee, told The Albert Lea Tribune that the store has seen a 42 percent increase in the items sold at the Blue Zone checkout since it opened.
The new lane is not considered one of the "main" checkouts in the store and is sometimes closed when others are open, according to Ms. Pleimling. Even so, she told the Tribune, "Parents send their kids to that lane for a snack, and then they'll return to the lane they're checking out in."
Blue Zones founder and best-selling author Dan Buettner brought the idea of a healthy checkout to Hy-Vee as part of Albert Lea's Vitality Project, which looks to raise awareness of health issues.