Maine Food Insider: Cumberland Farms commits to sell healthier foods
Photo / Lori Valigra
Cumberland Farms, with 24 stores and 495 employees in Maine, is the largest U.S. convenience store chain to join Partnership for a Healthier America, a nonprofit backed by former first lady Michelle Obama.
Cumberland Farms, with 24 stores and 495 employees in Maine, is the largest U.S. convenience store chain to join Partnership for a Healthier America, a nonprofit backed by former first lady Michelle Obama, to promote healthy food and fight childhood obesity.
The family-owned company, which is based in Westborough, Mass., has nearly 600 retail locations and 8,000 employees across eight states in New England, New York and Florida. The three-year partnership with Partnership for a Healthier America, announced last week in Washington, D.C., aims to increase its fresh food offerings to on-the-go customers.
It also will promote healthier food options in the “food deserts,” or communities that are underserved by supermarkets and other traditional grocery sources. More than 70% of Cumberland Farms stores operate in food deserts.
"Across the country, but especially in food deserts, modern convenience stores are providing essential access to nutrition for American families," Partnership for a Healthier America President and CEO Lawrence Soler said in a statement. He added that the agreement with Cumberland Farms "will help ensure that healthier foods are an easy and affordable choice for millions of customers, from all walks of life."
Over the next three years the chain plans to maintain at least eight categories of fresh fruits and vegetables year-round, offer a minimum of five whole grain products and four nonfat or low-fat dairy products, plus at least 20 packaged products that meet PHA’s healthier food criteria.
There also will be new Cumberland Farms private label grab-and-go and combo options with calorie, fat and sodium content that meet Partnership for a Healthier America’s healthy criteria.
According to Soler, Partnership for a Healthier America will support Cumberland Farms in the implementation of its commitment, as well as provide independent third-party verification of the stores' progress each year.
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