Save-A-Lot Elevates Food Desert Awareness With Fact-based Research

Save-A-Lot Food Stores and Mari Gallagher Research & Consulting Group have joined forces to raise awareness of the plight of millions of families in the United States who live in food deserts — large geographic areas with few, if any, grocery stores.

The partners recently released a Food Desert & Food Balance Community Fact Sheet that explains in depth the problem so many Americans face today, as well as the health consequences for those who live in food deserts.

As the country’s leading food desert expert, Chicago-based Gallagher has conducted groundbreaking research showing that residents of food deserts are more likely to suffer prematurely and die from diet-related health conditions such as diabetes and obesity. The Food Desert & Food Balance Community Fact Sheet provides the foundation for understanding this complex issue with definitions, illustrations and tables, while offering general guidelines and steps communities can take to address these food issues.

Key aspects addressed in the document include food deserts, the food balance theory, the convenience food factor, food access and an excerpt from an in-depth study on the impact of food deserts on public health in Chicago.

“Access to mainstream grocery stores is critical for community health,” said Gallagher, adding that the fact sheet “will help leaders in underserved areas throughout the country evaluate local conditions and take action to improve food offerings for better community health and wellness.”

Save-A-Lot, a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Supervalu, is helping to change the food access landscape through an aggressive growth plan to double its number of stores to 2,400 over the next five years. Many of those stores will be in underserved communities. For over 30 years, Save-A-Lot has served urban and rural communities, providing families with much-needed healthier foods at affordable prices. There are currently about 1,200 Save-A-Lot stores in 39 states from Maine to California.

“As a value-centered company, Save-A-Lot invests in neighborhoods and communities in dire need of access to affordable, more nutritious food,” said Bill Shaner, president and CEO of St. Louis-based Save-A-Lot. “We are committed to providing our shoppers with the food they need to feed and care for their families at consistently low prices — up to 40 percent less than conventional grocery stores.”

The fact sheet is available for download at www.save-a-lot.com or www.marigallagher.com.
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