Meijer Healthy Living

     On Tuesday, our class had the opportunity to listen to a registered dietitian who works for Meijer's Grocery Stores. It was interesting for me because I do not know much about the scope of the specific jobs that grocery store dietitians are involved with, and I also do not have a Meijers close to me. The woman that came in to talk to us was Janine Faber, MEd, RD, LD and her job title was a "Meijer Healthy Living Advisor". Janine was incredibly enthusiastic and very interesting and fun to listen to because I could tell that she was passionate about her career and really enjoys her job. Her job is funded by marketing promotions and also from sponsorships from varying companies whose products are promoted by Meijer. Some examples of products that may support her job would be companies such as Tropicana and Del Monte, among many others. Many products aspire to be part of the Meijer Healthy Living program, however, Meijer has the final say, and some products are rejected if they do not meet the standards of the program.  
    The goal of the Meijer Healthy Living Program is to increase sales and promote customer loyalty by creating and communicating health solutions and product knowledge to shoppers. It appears that Janine and her team do this in many different ways. Currently they sponsor 90 different community events, over 95 media appearances, and reach over 8,000,000 people! Community events include health fairs and expositions, cooking demonstrations, and other presentations. They also host in-store activities such as meal planning tips and other types of cooking activities. In the media, Meijer talks about how to prepare a $10 meal, and are also active in the Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest social media sites. Their website, mealbox.com gives ideas for weekly healthy menus which features weekly featured products, as well as kid-friendly and allergen friendly options. They also provide diabetes meal planning for their customers which can greatly improve the ease of managing the condition.

     Lastly, I learned more about the NuVal education program. I had heard of NuVal before, however, she  was able to explain it more in depth. This program ranks different products by numbers to let consumers make more nutritious choices and compare products in the store. I would like to see more grocery stores attain this system because I have not seen it in any stores I have been to so far, and I think that it would be very interesting and useful!