March 24, 2004

Store offers healthy food for thought

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

Devoting a full-time staff member to community education and outreach can be an iffy proposition for any retail business.
For Oryana Natural Foods Co-Op, the commitment reflects the nonprofit organization's mission statement. Its direct contribution to their bottom line is a secondary consideration at this point.
Since October, Sandi McArthur has been the store's education and outreach coordinator, a long title meaning basically that she brings the message of healthy food choices to anyone who cares to listen. And learn, as McArthur, a registered nurse, has spent her professional career immersing herself in all aspect of nutrition.
"A lot of people are being diagnosed with a multitude of health problems - heart disease, allergies, gluten intolerance, diabetes - and they seem very concerned about improving their health status," said McArthur, a native of Leland. "They want to modify and change their diet to contribute to this because they are being pushed by their health care providers to look at diet and exercise."
McArthur's efforts reflect her passion for education about natural foods and countering the media messages promoting poor food choices. She said consumers are scared by this study or lured by that commercial or enticing product until they do not know what choices to make.
Her community outreach efforts include setting up special demonstrations and cooking classes in the store as well as bringing a sampling of healthy foods to community events. Last Thursday, McArthur offered students at Northwestern Michigan College a variety of healthy snack and quick meal ideas, bringing along samples to taste as well as recipes and tips for healthy eating.
"This is a real interest of mine, to provide information to folks so they will hopefully eat more healthfully and see the benefits of that," she added. "This is a dream job because I've been a nurse for a very long time and I chose to move out of the nursing end of things because I really wanted to see if there were other ways to provide more information about wellness and well being."
Robert Struthers, Oryana's general manager for five years, said the time was ripe to commit money and time to educating the community.
"It really comes down to what we really are about as an organization," he said. "For 30 years, Oryana has really been trying to help people understand the relationship between food and health; having a dedicated outreach person will help accomplish that."
Struthers noted that McArthur was ready-made for the new position. She had been informally holding the job for a few years, shoehorning outreach efforts among other duties in the store. When Struthers decided this fall to commit to the position full time, she was ready to step in.
"Sandi is the obvious choice because she has so much interest as well as knowledge in this particular area," he said. "Her background in Western medicine, her formal education as a nurse, as well as a lifetime of thinking and studying about food issues, has given her a lot of knowledge and information relative to the types of issues we're dealing with."
McArthur has also been educating store staff on principles of nutrition, the benefits of eating seasonal and locally grown foods and the economics of healthy eating. She has drawn up handouts covering a range of toipcs, such as ten tips for eating healthy and gluten-free eating, that employees can hand out to customers.
McArthur also addresses the nutrition and economics of today's busy families. Acknowledging that many families eat on the go, she points consumers to healthy but fast meals and snacks instead of a steady diet of fast food.
She also wants to emphasize that choosing healthy food does not mean losing all flavor, texture and appeal and has numerous recipes at her fingertips that people can try at home. Occasional treats are acceptable, too, if they are kept as treats and not consumed at every meal.
"Food is really fun, but once you put in sugar, salt and fat you have an addiction issue going," she said. "Once you start choosing whole foods, you can be satisfied because your body is getting the nutrients it needs."