Dierbergs Markets is growing its company-wide wellness initiatives with the creation of a wellness team operating from the Culinary Event Center in its recently opened Des Peres, Mo., store.

Staff nutritionist Trish Farano, a 14-year veteran of Dierbergs, has relocated to the Culinary Event Center, where she will be joined by registered dietitian Jenn Randazzo, who comes to St. Louis-based Dierbergs and the wellness team with strong culinary skills and an extensive background as a pediatric and family-based consulting dietitian. Gloris Xynos, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator from St. Luke’s Hospital, completes the team lineup. St. Luke’s, also based in St. Louis, runs a convenient care clinic within the Des Peres location.

The Wellness Team’s goal is to provide Dierbergs’ customers and their families with wholesome foods, easy-to-understand nutrition information, and expert advice on making healthy lifestyle changes that are sustainable and enjoyable, using such innovative methods as custom store tours and social media.

“Wellness has been part of the Dierbergs store experience for nearly 30 years, from heart-health education to company-wide initiatives focused on childhood obesity,” noted Farano. “The new Culinary Event Center was designed to give us the space, tools and platform to build on those programs.”

Upcoming Wellness Team events include live dietitian-led Twitter chats scheduled for the first Wednesday of every month, starting in September; free store tours for groups of 20 to 30, focusing on specific dietary interests; and cooking classes featuring lighter fare and gluten-free dishes.

Dierbergs’ wellness program at the Des Peres store works in tandem with its pharmacy and dedicated organic/natural Whole Life departments, the Culinary Event Center, and the convenient care clinic.

“We fully expect our Des Peres store to become a destination for wellness activities -- to reach beyond the immediate customer base served by this new location,” said Farano. “Plus programs will flow outward from our Des Peres wellness team to existing locations to complement and build on wellness programs we already have in place.”

Many of Dierbergs’ heart-healthy eating initiatives and cooking classes were established through its long-standing partnership with Town & Country-based Missouri Baptist Medical Center, which began in 1986. Other health-and-wellness offerings from the grocer include Carb It Smart cooking classes; a quarterly Whole Life Magazine publication; various published healthy recipes, including two cookbooks; and Dierbergs’ "Kids BEE Healthy," a four-week fall campaign tackling childhood obesity.

This year, Dierbergs teamed with Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis to support “Homers for Health,” a fundraising and educational effort for the hospital’s wellness programs. One aspect of the program is "Dierbergs Strong Bodies," weekly healthy eating tips airing on the “Cardinals Kids” show on Fox Sports Midwest.
 

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