The Green Room

Making healthier food choices more affordable

By Adrienne White on February 9, 2012 Leave a comment

Thanks to our partner, the National Black Child Development Institute, for sharing this photo.

When it comes to food, it always begins with affordability.

At Walmart, I work with NGOs that advocate for and support communities, and my focus is the African-American community. I was there in Washington D.C. this week as Walmart unveiled the new healthier food icon – but the icon is just one aspect of our healthier foods commitment.

Walmart has also pledged to make healthier foods more affordable, and this week we reported on our progress: In just one area – fresh fruits and vegetables – we estimate that we’ve saved Walmart customers more than $1 billion over the past year.

There should not be a price premium on healthier food, so we’ve been working hard to eliminate it. This economy has asked a lot of Americans, and it’s forced a lot of choices, but whether to put healthy food on the table shouldn’t be one of them.

Walmart's new "Great For You" Icon

We knew we could bring down prices by driving unnecessary costs out of the supply chain through sourcing, pricing, transportation and logistics. We are working on price smoothing, to ensure customers do not have to pay more for food such as low-sodium soup or whole-wheat pasta. And we’re building more direct relationships with farmers, which is generating more income for farmers and lowering prices for our customers.

This is an important part of my job. I work with historically black colleges and universities, and with agricultural extensions, to empower local farmers to become entrepreneurs. Getting local, fresh apples into stores means a lot to a community and also saves money and creates jobs.

It’s crucial that nutritious, affordable food is available to more families in this country, and I’m so excited that in just 12 months, we have made tremendous progress toward making that happen.

Credit goes to our suppliers who share our commitment to making healthy food more affordable. And we also celebrate our NGO partners who are doing amazing work, including developing nutrition and fitness curriculum and after-school programs. The National Black Child Development Institute has a new education program that we are supporting. The NAACP is tackling childhood obesity, and the League of United Latin Citizens is removing obstacles to affordable food in the Latino community.

Their efforts are too numerous to name, but I hope you will read more about them and join us in supporting healthier, happier communities.