Shopping Matters, sponsored by North Georgia WIC, is a new program in Cherokee County that teaches registered shoppers how to buy nutritional food on a budget. Above: Nutritionist Josefina Arvizu-Villela, left, speaks to Cherokee residents about the differences in whole wheat bread and breads made with whole grain to a group of shoppers taking a tour through the Kroger on Highway 5 in Canton.
The Shopping Matters tour was sponsored by North Georgia Women, Infants and Children and was led by Josefina Arvizu-Villela, a WIC nutritionist based in the Cherokee County Health Department who was recently trained as a Shopping Matters tour facilitator.
“Often, people don’t know how to buy nutritious, yet affordable food for their family because they don’t understand which foods are best, nor do they know how to make sense of the labels,” Arvizu-Villela said in a release. “Shopping Matters empowers them to shop more effectively because it breaks it all down in a practical, sensible way.”
The tour focused particularly on foods available in the WIC food package and taught ways to make healthy, affordable choices among these foods, according to a release from Jennifer King, spokesperson for the health department.
“Many moms I know don’t pay attention to food labels or have any idea about nutrition,” tour participant Katherine Garcia of Woodstock said in the release. “They just buy food they think saves them money, but instead, it’s often pre-processed. Today, I learned I can freeze fruits and vegetables and how to better read food labels for nutritional values.”
At the end of the tour, Shopping Matters participants were given a $10 Kroger Gift Card and a guidebook that includes tasty, simple recipes and information provided during the tour.
An additional Shopping Matters tour will be conducted Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Kroger in Woodstock on Old Highway 5.
For information call the local WIC office at 1-(866) 942-9675.
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