James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital - Tampa, Florida
Salute To Colors! Grocery Store Tour
Dietitians and Publix Employees helped veterans and shoppers learn about good food choices.
You are in a hurry to get home. Then you remember you need to stop at the supermarket to pick up a few things for dinner. You're hungry and everything in the store looks delicious. You recall the dietitian told you to make smart food choices. But... "What was it I was supposed to remember?"
This is not an unlikely scenario. Maybe you can relate. The Dietitians from the Tampa VA Hospital recognize that marketing and packaging may play a bigger role in one's food choices than nutrition or good health. So, during March, National Nutrition Month, they decided to take the dietary information "on tour" in what was the first annual Salute To Colors!
On March 9th Haley dietitians were at the Publix Super Market at 16401 Tampa Palms Blvd West, University Center, from 9am to 11am. There they assisted, educated and directed select Veterans and Publix customers how to make informed food choices in order to promote healthy eating. The dietitians were located throughout the store to provide specific information, answer questions on the following categories: Produce, Dairy, Protein, Snacks and Grains. Food samples were also provided at each station to broaden veteran's food choices. To increase awareness of lean cuts of meats, such as alligator and identify exotic fruits and vegetables, Publix also offered their Butcher and Produce Manager to work alongside the dietitian to convey the lesson.
The dietitians not only helped educate our Veterans but also helped Publix customers, "which is a wonderful community service," according to Melody Chavez, Registered Dietitian at Haley.
Salute To Colors represents all branches of the military as well as promoting veterans to eat right with color. A healthy diet is a diet of variety. A variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes are like a painter's palette of colors! Thus the more colors incorporated into ones diet the more likely the diet will be healthy.
The Salute To Colors! Tour helped our Veterans and Publix Super Market Customers make better food choices. "This grocery store was the best event I have been too. I learned enough to start eating healthier! It was very knowledgeable and every one of the stations was top notch!" stated Bufford Blizard, Air Force Veteran who traveled an hour from Orlando to participate. All in all, the tour made the choices easy to remember for future shopping trips. Next stop for Haley Dietitians to promote healthy lifestyle choices for our veterans... Golden Corral!
