Change4Life

Nisa-Today’s is a key participant in the Government’s ‘Change4Life’ scheme, a national initiative launched in November 2008 to reverse the rising tide of obesity in England and encourage everyone to make positive, healthier changes to their lifestyle.

The convenience sector was the first to launch with the project, which also runs across the national supermarket chains and features support and investment from the Department of Health.  It involves Nisa-Today’s member stores committing to increasing visibility and devoting time and resource to ensure that a good range of high quality fruit and vegetables is available within their stores.

The scheme was launched on November 13th in the North East in two Nisa Local stores – one in Scargill Court, Darlington and another in Esh Winning, County Durham. They were selected against strict criteria to maximise the impact of the project and were two of 12 ‘development’ stores (all of whom are members of the Association of Convenience Stores ) to launch with the initiative in November, with 120 targeted to be operating the scheme in the North East by the end of March 2009. There are plans to roll out the scheme across the UK and the Department of Health has set aside funding for the project for the next three years, with £200,000 investment committed in the first year.

Commenting on the scheme, Dawn Primorolo, Public Health Minister said, “I am very impressed with the hard work and commitment put into this project by the various retailers. We know that consumer habits are shifting. People shop around at different outlets several times a week, so it’s important that they have the opportunity to buy fresh fruit and vegetables where it is convenient for them. I hope that other retailers take the lead from these participating stores and help achieve our objective of getting people to eat more healthily. ”

Nisa-Today’s is already heavily committed to promoting fruit and vegetables to its members and their customers through its 5-A-Day accreditation and the work it does in its stores. Change4Life builds upon this activity and will drive future success.

Change4Life is based on a similar scheme in Scotland – Healthy Living - which also includes Nisa-Today’s members and saw significant benefits including an increase in profits ranging from 20% up to as much as 400%. Locals who have benefited from the scheme have reported that it has encouraged them to eat more fruit and vegetables and also to use their local shop as a source of fruit and vegetables.

To read more about the Change4Life scheme, access the attached site