Jane Kramer is originally from Minnesota, but moved to Michigan eleven years ago for her husband’s teaching job at Michigan State University. She is a mom, a photographer, and a community member who believes that “we are all in this together”. Jane believes in a healthy lifestyle as most of us do, however, Jane is taking a leap of faith and is encouraging grocery stores to create a “healthy checkout” rather than providing individuals with the temptation of candy bars, sodas and negative reading material.
Her Campus: Where did the idea of a “healthy checkout” come from?
Jane Kramer: “I first thought of the idea of a “family-friendly” aisle shortly after we adopted our son, who was 5 years old. Our lives changed in so many wonderful ways, and some things were just different – such as grocery shopping. My 30-minute grocery trips turned to an hour plus, so it was often the case that he was tired and hungry by the time we got to checkout. He wasn’t “misbehaving”, he just needed to eat something and he was five. He also happened to love fruits and vegetables and wasn’t at all familiar with American candy so luckily for me, he ignored it completely. However, that’s when I started to look at checkout aisles in a whole new light. There were twenty-two aisles of candy, soda, and junk food and not one piece of fruit or anything healthy that either of us wanted to eat. I would open a box of crackers from time to time, but I was in awe of the overwhelming amount of junk. I wondered how I had not noticed it before and thought that surely we couldn’t be the only ones that wanted something better to eat if we had to wait in line! As my son learned English and started to read, the trips through checkout became even more interesting. His eyes were drawn to demoralizing pictures and he would ask me about words that I was planning to teach him – later – at a time and place of my choosing. As a parent, I felt that was my right. I had walked by these magazines a thousand times before, but seeing them through his eyes stopped me in my tracks. So I decided I would gather support for the idea of healthy checkout aisles through the form of a petition. I starting writing the petition for a few “family-friendly” aisles. The further back I stepped and the more research I did, the more I could see that it wasn’t just about families. It’s about addressing the serious obesity issue we are facing as a nation (see below), how junk food and soda are being aggressively marketed to us everywhere we go, and about encouraging and offering healthier food options for everyone. The petition was launched on Dec. 13., 2016.”
HC: What is the reasoning behind the petition and what do you hope comes out as a result of this petition?
JK: “I see this petition as a way to show not only Meijer (an American supercenter chain), but retailers everywhere, that there is support for healthy checkout aisles. I know that asking for all aisles to be healthy is a big ask, but I’m hopeful that Meijer will consider creating some healthy aisles in all of their stores. Even if they started testing healthy checkouts, it would be a step in the right direction.”
HC: What type of feedback are you receiving?
JK: “Those that oppose it seem to focus mainly on it being a parenting issue. However, I don’t think it has anything to do with anyone’s parenting skills – good or bad. The real question is why are we blaming parents and kids instead of asking retailers and the industries that make these products to take responsibility for how they market to kids at checkout? And not just to kids, but to all of us. We may think we have a choice when it comes to purchasing junk food at checkout, but research shows that sales at checkout are impulse buys, not planned purchases. Marketers know that we’re prone to buying sugary, fatty foods when we are tired and stressed – that’s why they put it there. If retailers need to offer food at checkout, let’s target those impulse buys towards healthy foods instead. The reality is the majority of people want to eat healthier food – especially millennials who will be driving the food market even more in the coming years. I’m not asking for junk food, candy and soda to be removed from the entire store. We’ll still have the option of buying it, but we’ll have to work a little harder to do so.
Lastly, I want to touch on the argument that having these items at checkout provides parents with “teachable moments”. I am all for ‘teachable moments,’ but we have countless such moments throughout the store before we get to checkout and everywhere else we go. To suggest that parents and kids benefit by having additional such moments in checkout, week after week, makes no sense to me. Wouldn’t it benefit us more to have healthy food choices and reading material for kids? Why does a “teachable moment” have to focus on what is harmful? Couldn’t it instead be modeling better eating habits and healthier choices for our kids? It seems like a no-brainer to me, but I know that change is hard – especially when checkout aisles have been this way for so long.
The ‘teachable moment’ argument also doesn’t address the fact that we all parent differently. What one parent deems appropriate for their child may not be appropriate for another. We should respect the rights of parents in determining what is appropriate for their child and give parents the courtesy of being able to decide what’s best – just as we do when choosing when our kids are ready for G, PG, PG-13 and R-rated films. We can’t assume all parents and children are ready for R-rated material from the get-go – especially in the checkout aisle of our family-friendly grocery store.”
HC: Are there other stores that are doing this?
JK: “Aldi has committed to switching to healthy check lanes by the end of 2017. Other stores are either testing or have healthy or “family-friendly” checkout aisles in place: Target, Publix, Raley’s, Genuardi’s, Harmon’s.”
What products would you like to see in healthy aisles?
JK: “First, Meijer should adopt nutrition standards such as the USDA’s Smart Snacks guidelines for schools. They could highlight these standards on their website and use it as a marketing tool to attract health-minded customers. If they don’t set up any nutrition standards for checkout, it’s likely we would see products that are labeled as healthy, but which aren’t any more nutritious than soda, candy, and junk food.
Food/Beverage Ideas: MICHIGAN-made products (or made in the states Meijer does business), bananas, bagged carrots, dried fruits/veggies, whole-grain snacks, gluten-free and nut-free snacks, cherry tomatoes, fruit cups, yogurt, hummus cups, fruit juice, veggie juice, milk, sparkling water…
Reading material: Fred Meijer’s biography! Expand the reading material to include science, history, art, nature, sports, and music. We have some great magazines in Michigan – Michigan History, Michigan Gardening, and Michigan Home. For kids: board books, easy chapter books, leveled books, novels for older kids. NYT best sellers! Meijer could highlight book selections from local reading programs!”
HC: For those who are interested, how are they able to sign this petition?
JK: “Anyone who is interested in supporting healthy checkouts should sign it – even if you don’t shop at Meijer or believe that some but not all aisles should be healthy. You can state this preference in your comments as other supporters have done. I would also encourage people to contact your store directly asking for healthy checkouts or to start your own petition. Sign here!
There is also a FB page with more information on the topic at https://www.facebook.com/healthycheckouts/.
HC: Her Campus empowers women. Do you have any words of wisdom for all women out there who are scared to step out of their comfort zone to achieve something great?
JK: “Yes, just do it! If it’s something you truly believe in, that belief will carry you through. That and your supporters. Also, stay away from the negativity on social media. It took me a few weeks to learn this lesson and to not take everything so personally. However, opposition also helps us find our voice and define our purpose – it makes us stronger. Definitely look to women you admire for encouragement and support. I’ve worked with and for a lot of incredibly courageous, strong, and inspiring women over the years. The one thing I’ve learned is this: We always have two choices. We can either accept the way things are, but complain about it OR we can do whatever it takes to try to change it.”