Kids' healthy snacks for free at area stores

Jim Mooney, store manager at Moser's in Holts Summit, stands near new fruit baskets to be featured inside store.
Jim Mooney, store manager at Moser's in Holts Summit, stands near new fruit baskets to be featured inside store.

Ashley Varner, healthy community coordinator at Capital Region Medical Center, has made waves in the Jefferson City community in two major areas - healthy eating and physical activity - over the past two years.

Now, Varner has extended her Mid-Missouri efforts to Holts Summit, bringing the Fresh Fruit 4 Kids initiative to the town's Moser's grocery store, making it the eighth participating store.

The goal of the initiative is for children under 12 who are shopping with their parents to have a free, healthy option for a snack instead of junk food, with baskets of free fruit available in the stores.

The fresh fruit baskets have already been adopted at Hy-Vee, Save-A-Lot, Schnucks, Gerbes and both Walmart locations in Jefferson City.

In an earlier interview, Varner told the News Tribune the program is about making the healthy, easy choice.

"This is my tag line for all of the projects under my action plan, which helps everyone to see that the big picture is long-term sustainability," she said.

Varner said costs for this project are minimal. She purchases the baskets, chalkboards and fruit using the Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities grant issued through the Missouri Foundation for Health. The five-year grant provides funds to help create long-term sustainable projects throughout the community.

"This is just a trial run for the Holts Summit location, but at some point, we would like the store to sustain the program on its own," Varner said.