Grocery store tours help students make healthier choices

Pizza, chips and soda tend to be staples in college dorm rooms – but students at Temple University are learning how to incorporate healthier options into their meals. They can now sign up for shopping trips with a dietician.

Pizza, chips and soda tend to be staples in college dorm rooms – but students at Temple University are learning how to incorporate healthier options into their meals. They can now sign up for shopping trips with a dietician. [audio:100913msgrocery.mp3]

Temple University nutritionist Nicole Patience is leading a group of students – all female- through the Fresh Grocer supermarket around the corner from Temple. Patience says many students aren’t savvy grocery shoppers, and don’t know how to pick the ingredients for a balanced dinner:

Patience: One of the things that I like to talk about is how to put a meal together – what makes a meal a meal – versus a snack

The group stops in the meat aisle and Patience explains lean picks and portion sizes:

Patience: So if you were going to put together a plate of food that was healthy, about what portion of the plate would have meat on it?

The students are surprised that the answer is three ounces, or a piece of meat roughly the size of your palm

Patience: protein would be one of the smaller sections, and what section do you think we’re promoting to be the largest section?
Student: The vegetables
Patience: And about how much of the plate do we want that to be?
Student: The whole thing!
Patience: good answer!

Public Health student Daphne Daniel says she picked up a lot of good information going through the store – but cost is a challenge.

Daniel: Because all the things that are so called not good for you are cheaper, like Ooodles and Noodles you get them for 25 or 50 cents.

Daniel, like her fellow students says she’ll try to balance both, her budget and nutritional needs:

Daniel: I’ll get some yogurt, and then the noodles, too hahahaha