Healthy eating is about to get easier at Hanscom

  • Published
  • By Sarah Olaciregui
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Thanks to a partnership between the Health and Wellness Center (HAWC) and Hanscom's Commissary, healthy eating choices will soon be easier to identify when shopping for groceries.

The two organizations are teaming up for an initiative starting Oct. 18 called "Healthy Hanscom: Create Your Plate." The idea is to specially mark, with an easily recognizable symbol, healthier items throughout the aisles of the Commissary. The logo will be placed on the shelves along with the prices of the items.

HAWC officials note that a traditional approach to healthy shopping is to shop the perimeter of the marketplace first. However, there are numerous healthy options in the middle aisles, as well. The program breaks down items into nine different food categories: frozen items, dairy, snacks, beverages, sweets, grains, meats, cold and hot cereal and nonperishable items. The overall concept focuses on staple selections that consumers purchase regularly and identifies the best choices in that category.

"We hear from people all the time that there aren't enough healthy eating choices on base," said Will Carpenter, Health Promotion manager at the HAWC. "This initiative helps take the guess work out of what's healthy and what's not when shopping for food for your family."

Mr. Carpenter admits that there are already many "no-brainer" items that people know are healthy.

"You already know that a fat-free or light dressing is better than regular dressing," he said. "But you may not realize that some soups may have added sodium or fat compared to others."

The HAWC's dietician, Annemarie Pease, is also involved in Create Your Plate. She established the guidelines the HAWC and Commissary used to launch the program. She has also been helping identify items to highlight.

The items she considered for each category had to meet distinct guidelines before it could be considered healthy. For example, when considering juices under the beverage section, one of the criteria was that it was 100 percent fruit juice with no added sugar. This is key for families who want to benefit from the healthful aspects of juice without getting a lot of sugar.

Additionally, items under cold and hot cereals must contain less than 6 grams of sugar per serving size. Fat also played a large part in the criteria.

For items such as frozen foods and meats, if the fat is less than 20 percent of the total calories and saturated fat accounted for less than 5 percent of the total fat, the item could be marked as meeting the Create Your Plate standards.

According to the dietician, a dietary intake low in saturated fat is an important tool in helping to prevent cardiovascular disease, including stroke and heart attacks.

For grains, an item was marked if it provided a minimum of 3 grams of dietary fiber per serving.

"Paying attention to dietary fiber intake plays an important role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and is a very useful tool in achieving weight management goals," she said.

There are up to nine individual criteria for each food category, although not all are used on each item. Ingredients of each food were evaluated. No item with the terms hydrogenated, enriched or high fructose corn syrup in the first three ingredients was admitted to the program.

Mrs. Pease also points out that most people are aware things such as fresh fruits and vegetables are generally healthy, so those will not be marked.

"Although produce won't be marked, we plan to highlight one fruit and vegetable each month and give shoppers tips on how to use those items in healthy recipes," she said.

An information table will be set up with recipes and information on the highlighted fruit or vegetable. Brochures will be available discussing the program in further detail and provide newly assigned members information about the initiative.

The organizers think Healthy Hanscom: Create Your Plate will be an effective initiative because of its convenience.

"We basically do most of the work for you," Mr. Carpenter said. "When you're picking up groceries, you don't want or have time to read every nutritional label. Now, healthier items will be marked throughout the aisles, taking the guesswork out of the process."

Mrs. Pease also suggests that Create Your Plate is easier to understand than the Food Guide Pyramid. The Food Guide Pyramid seen over the last six to seven years has been revamped by the American Dietetic Association. The new model is a plate and in known as My Plate, similar to a dinner plate. Rather than counting out portions, participants can simply section the plate to obtain the recommended servings and serving sizes. For more information, visit www.choosemyplate.gov.  

"You just need to remember to divide your plate into four sections," she said. "One quarter is for proteins, one is for fruit, one is for veggies and one is for starches."

To help kick off the initiative, the HAWC and Commissary employees will be giving out reusable shopping bags at the Commissary Oct. 18. The bags will include the Healthy Hanscom: Create Your Plate logo so shoppers can remember to look for the tags indicating the healthy food choices. Members of the HAWC will be at the Commissary periodically throughout the week to distribute the bags.

There will also be posters throughout the Commissary and around the base highlighting the program and further explaining Create Your Plate.

"We want people to feel good about the food choices they made after they get home from the grocery store," Mr. Carpenter said.

The HAWC personnel will work with the Commissary to look at the results of the campaign, as well. They will compare data to see if the marked items increase in sales. The program will be a continuous effort. Each quarter new items will be reviewed and marked as needed.

"The main goal is to help the entire Hanscom community - housing residents, dorm residents and anyone else who shops at the commissary - have a healthier lifestyle," said Mr. Carpenter. "Maybe one day Create Your Plate will spread to other bases, making it easier for everyone to make wise decisions when it comes to food no matter where they are."