Healthy Nevada focuses on grocery store education

Tammy Roberts, a nutrition and health education specialist with the Bates County MU Extension, explains to tour participants how to find the best produce. The Cooking Matters at the Grocery Store tours are expected to open to the public later this spring. Nicole Garner/Daily Mail

Nevada Daily Mail

Do you know how to get the best bargain for your buck, or how to read a nutrition facts label?

Healthy Nevada will soon be offering shoppers the opportunity to learn through an upcoming grocery store tour program.

The tours, called Cooking Matters at the Grocery Store, will educate participants on understanding nutrition facts, determining healthy options, understanding in-season produce shopping and other savvy shopper skills.

The tour workshop is part of the Share Our Strength's Cooking Matter's program. Cooking Matters works to educate families on ways to create healthy meals at home.

Jessica Hunt, program coordinator with Healthy Nevada, said the grocery store tour program is still in the works, and that test tours are being ran. Volunteers are undergoing training and more work is needed before tours will be opened to the public.

Healthy Nevada staff has been working on the grocery store tour program since late January. Hunt said tours would be open for signup within the next month or two.

Each grocery store tour will be 45 minutes to an hour long, and all participants are provided with booklets with additional information for later use. Tours will be held at Wal-Mart and Woods, with morning and evening tours available several times per week. Participation will be limited to six people per tour.

"All tours are absolutely free," Hunt said. "You just will need to sign up."

Hunt said the goal is for the tour program to run indefinitely, but the level of community interest will affect how frequently the tours are hosted.

Those interested in volunteering with the program can contact Hunt by email at Jessica.Hunt@Cerner.com or call 816-301-9418.