WEST SACRAMENTO, CA - As part of a new strategy to infuse children with healthy values at a young age, Sacramento-based retailer Raley’s will now be providing free fruit to kids in stores to eat while parents shop. The company is placing baskets of fruit in the entrances of each of its stores to provide a nutritious snacks for any child under the age of 12.

"Raley's wants to connect kids with fresh and healthy food, while enhancing our customers' overall shopping experience," explained Kevin Konkel, Raley’s Senior Vice President of Store Operations. "Offering kids free fruit is an opportunity to provide a nutritious snack option. We know that small changes in food choices can make an impact over time."

This new implement into Raley’s stores comes a little under two months after the reveal of its “Let’s Begin” campaign, a renewed focus on making healthy eating more available to its shoppers, and now help instill better dietary choices and practices later in life. The Let’s Begin campaign includes several levels of strategic moves, including: 

• Help its shoppers with fresh cost-saving tips
• Give assistance in defining food labels
• Provide shopping facts and tips about things like coloring and other fresh produce facts

“Fruit is a delicious and easy way for kids to get more fiber and important nutrition into their day, keeping their immune system strong and their taste buds happy!” added Raley’s Wellness Evangelist, Emmie Satrazemis.

According to a press release from the retailer, eighty-seven percent of Americans don't meet recommendations for daily fruit consumption. Raley’s hope is that introducing positive food choices when children are developing their eating habits can be a unique opportunity to educate the next generation of consumers.

Will this investment into the future pay off for Raley’s in both dollars and in wellness? I look forward to diving deeper into the company’s fresh produce tactics as time goes on.

Raley's Family of Fine Stores