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Let’s be honest, nutrition can be overwhelming, and some people can’t get a nutrition education because they can’t find a dietitian locally who takes their insurance.
But what if there was a nutritionist in your area that was readily accessible, knowledgeable, and completely free?
Fully qualified nutrition experts can be found on the shelves of your local supermarket – no need to schedule a time to meet with them or even travel to their office – they are ready to provide nutrition education and help you make informed food choices as you shop.
And if you can’t come into the store, they’re offering virtual classes to teach people near and far about nutrition. “Overall, the goal of our program is to provide nutrition education to customers and help them find their own way to health,” says Emily McGee, one of the registered dietitians on the Stop & Shop Nutrition Partners team.
Being a registered dietitian myself, I spoke with dietitians from three different grocery stores to learn more about what they do and the impact they have on their communities.
What nutrition services are available at supermarkets?
Supermarket nutritionists, also known as retail nutritionists, offer a variety of services to local shoppers as well as virtual programs to provide nutrition education to people around the world. Below are just a few of the many services they offer:
Nutritional support in stores and in the community
Alison Stowell, a nutritionist for Hannaford Supermarkets, is based at the store. Every day, she works in the aisles helping shoppers with nutrition questions and food choices. “We know that the supermarket can be an overwhelming and stimulating experience, and it’s easy to lose sight of your goals. You only have about 10 seconds to help move someone forward,” Stowell says.
Additionally, she offers in-store demonstrations, recipe development for the stores, and presentations to communities and nonprofits, including schools and libraries. These services are also offered at other stores, including family-owned Big Y grocers and select Stop & Shop locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Virtual Classes
In recent years, many supermarkets have been focusing on providing virtual services. Big Y is Ask a Nutritionist The email service allows you to submit a question and one of two company nutritionists, Carrie Taylor and Andrea Luttrell, will reply with an answer.
Big Y also offers online classes and support groups, with people from all over the world joining in. “We’ve had people call in from Mexico and different countries,” Luttrell said.
At Stop & Shop, Virtual Nutrition and Cooking Classes“We’re working with our pharmacists to provide more health-specific education, such as heart health and diet for diabetes,” McGehee says.
Individual counseling
Many stores offer free one-on-one nutrition consultations. Big Y experimented with charging $10 to $20 for a consultation and then refunding the fee in the form of a gift card after the session. “We wanted consumers to understand the value of paying for nutrition education and meeting with a registered dietitian,” Taylor says. But the small fee proved to be a barrier for customers, so they offered the service completely free, increasing engagement rates.
During nutrition sessions, “we might pull out nutrition facts labels or even make product suggestions,” McGehee says. Stowell adds that she wants to bridge the gap between the nutrition information people receive from their doctor or local dietitian and implementing it into their shopping habits.
In-store display
If you don’t have time to speak with a nutritionist in-store or take a class, you can still learn from them through nutrition displays in many of their stores. Stop & Shop has a program called Nutrition Partners that features healthy products in its stores. “These are healthy shopping destinations that have been carefully reviewed and handpicked by our nutritionists,” says McGehee.
Big Y has a Kids Fruit Club display where kids can receive a free piece of fruit while shopping as a family. “Kids Fruit Club’s goal is to make shopping with kids easier by giving them nutritious snack options and encouraging a healthy lifestyle,” Luttrell says.
Stores with nutritionists
Retail nutritionists serve their communities and are a great place to start if you’re not sure where to go for nutrition information. Here are some supermarkets that offer a combination of in-store and virtual nutrition services:
Still not sure if you could benefit from consulting a nutritionist? A nutritionist can make a big difference by helping you with simple everyday food choices.
For example, Luttrell recalls speaking with a woman at a health fair who’d recently been diagnosed with diabetes. “She told me she was really missing being able to eat bananas, and I told her that with a little guidance, she could still eat them,” Luttrell says. “To her, being able to eat bananas again was like the best news she’d ever heard in her life.”
