Dannon and Del Monte also pledge to make healthy choices more accessible.
On Day Two of PHA’s annual Summit, three groups announce new commitments aimed at ending the childhood obesity epidemic
During the second day of the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA)’s Building a Healthier Future Summit, Dannon, Del Monte and Kwik Trip announced new commitments to make healthier choices more accessible and affordable for busy parents and families.
PHA, which is hosting the summit, works with the private sector and PHA honorary chair First Lady Michelle Obama to solve the nation’s childhood obesity crisis.
Kwik Trip, a family-owned business that runs more than 400 convenience stores and other outlets in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, committed to improving healthier food access and implementing a new EATSmart program and other policies that promote healthy habits among consumers. Kwik Trip will also start a Healthy Concessions Program that allows organizations to purchase healthier items at discounted prices to use in their fundraising efforts.
“Innovation has always proven critical when exploring solutions to our nation’s health, and the commitments made by Dannon, Del Monte and Kwik Trip are examples of how the private sector can transform and innovate to address the needs of society,” said Larry Soler, president and CEO of Partnership for a Healthier America. “Each year we are getting closer to our goal to build a healthier nation and solve the childhood obesity crisis. And that is because of the leadership from organizations, such as Dannon, Del Monte and Kwik Trip, as well as Sodexo, Nutri Ventures, Knowledge Universe, FirstBIKE, UnityPoint Health-Trinity, Eskenazi Health, Meridian and St. Luke’s Hospital, which announced their commitments yesterday.”
Dannon, the nation’s leading producer of yogurt, committed to improving nutrient density and reducing sugar and fat in its yogurt products. Dannon will also invest in education and research focused on healthy eating habits.
Del Monte Foods Inc., one of the country’s largest producers, distributors and marketers of premium quality, branded food products for the U.S. retail market, committed to improving the nutrient density of what it sells through marketing and new product innovation. It also is donating more fruit and vegetable products to anti-hunger efforts.