Shopping for healthy foods is an important part of a heathy lifestyle, and people in the community can learn more about making good food choices during a grocery store event next week.

 

CentraCare Health _ Monticello is partnering with Cub Foods in Monticello, Thursday, April 25 to host an informative grocery store tour featuring Anna Reinking, Outpatient and Diabetes Educator with CentraCare.

 

Reinking, who has been with CentraCare for two years, specializes in community outreach, which includes education programming, classes and community events.

 

“I’m just trying to get nutrition health out there to the community,” she says.

 

Reinking was once a grocery store dietitian, a position established to work within grocery stores to promote education and help people shop wisely. 

 

“I know first-hand from experience from my clients here and from working in the grocery store that not everyone knows how to grocery shop,” says Reinking.

 

“There are actually tactics - ways to do it appropriately,  ways to save money and ways to do it to be more health-conscious as well. And the best place to provide education is in the location where they’re making their choices.”

 

Reinking says CentraCare reached out to the local community grocer store, which happened to be Cub Foods in Monticello. 

 

“They were willing and excited at the store to promote the healthy foods they have there,” she says.

 

The tour will begin at the produce section.

 

“We’ll be going over foods that are in season, because in-season produce is obviously going to be lower cost,” says Reinking. “We’ll discuss the importance of fruits and vegetables, show how to weigh them and how to use unit pricing.”

 

Then the tour will make its way to the meat aisle.

 

“We’ll talk about healthy types of meats - lower fat meats and how to save on purchasing meats,” says Reinking, “then to the dairy aisle.”

 

She says they’ll focus primarily on the perimeter of the store where all the fresh foods are located.

 

On the inner aisles, she’ll talk more about how to read a nutrition facts label and ways to pinpoint healthy options, plus look at buzz words like organic  and free range, and show how to decipher ingredients choose products based on their labels.

 

Reinking says there are rules to healthy grocery shopping.

 

“A lot of people first like to go for what’s on sale. That’s their first tactic,” she says. “Studies show that just about every individual who walks into a grocery store, whether they have a grocery list or not, will purchase something that’s on sale whether they need it or not.”

 

So making a list and sticking to it is important.

 

Reinking will also highlight a few health issues, like cardiac disease, diabetes and food allergies, and focus on positive foods to combat those issues.

 

“Anna has brought a lot of experience with her. She’s done classes and other educational pieces,” says Heather Eidem, community relations generalist with CentraCare Health - Monticello. “She goes out to the community and she’s very open to coming to community groups and doing presentations. It’s a great asset for us as we’re so involved in community health and wellness.”

 

Eidem says the tour will be beneficial for anyone who wants to shop healthier.

 

“Everyone is pressed for time and they use it as an excuse for not being healthy,” she says. “But this grocery shopping tour demonstrates how you can be efficient and be healthy at the same time.”

 

The tour takes place Thursday from 6 p.m. until 7 p.m. For more information, call 763-271-2405. To register to attend the grocery store tour, visit centracare.com or sign-up at the customer service counter at Cub Foods.