Corner-store program brings healthy food to the masses

IN the food deserts of Philadelphia's low-income minority neighborhoods, where supermarkets are few and far between, the typical corner store that residents rely on for groceries has been a fat fortress, a high-carb castle, a heart-unhealthy haven for high-fructose corn-syrup drinks masquerading as "10 percent real fruit juice."

But today, if you walk into any one of 580 Philadelphia corner groceries, the first thing that hits you is that this is not your mom and pop's mom-and-pop store.

Jose Nunez took over Robles Grocery - on the bustling Juniata Park corner of G Street and Wyoming Avenue - from his mom and pop two years ago, shortly before Juan Vila walked in and offered him 100 bucks to introduce four healthy foods to customers.

Naturally, Nunez's first question was: What's the catch?

No catch, said Vila, a corner-store recruiter for the Food Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to making healthy, affordable food available to all Philadelphians.

The Food Trust is partnering with the city's Department of Public Health, which was given nearly $840,000 in federal funds to transform 600 traditional Philly corner stores into places where fresh fruits and vegetables and low-fat, low-sugar, low-salt foods give customers healthier choices.

Obesity, which is linked to diabetes, heart disease and stroke, is second only to tobacco use in causes of preventable deaths in the United States, said the city Health Department's Sara Solomon, who manages the healthy-corner-stores program.

"Philadelphia has some of the country's highest obesity rates. . . . We know that people who are given access to more healthy food will eat more healthy food," she said. "So this program is a no-brainer for any health department."

At Robles Grocery, the rack that used to greet customers with a cornucopia of sugary snack cakes as they walked in was moved to the back, replaced by a huge display of fresh fruits and vegetables. Even before they enter, customers see the new outdoor produce tables, evidence that Nunez quickly exceeded the plateau of four healthy foods.

He's added such an ambitious array of mangos, pineapples, avocados, plantains and more that he recently qualified for a free refrigeration unit (yogurt! strawberries! fresh fruit salads!). The Food Trust gives fridges to its most gung-ho converts.

"I'm basically the only corner store around here that sells the fresh fruits and vegetables people want," Nunez said excitedly. "I'm always busy. Look at this!"