NACS Makes Commitment to Partnership for a Healthier America

The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), the association representing the nation’s 154,000-plus convenience stores, has announced a new commitment with the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), becoming the first retail-association partner. Through this commitment, NACS will rely on PHA’s resources and expertise to help conveniences stores provide more visibility to healthier choices inside their stores.

Over the next three years, NACS will make available key resources to its members to help determine how they can carry additional healthier choices, as well as provide promotional materials related to Drink Up, PHA’s marketing campaign to encourage water consumption. NACS also will provide healthier catering options at its events, including the NACS Show, one of the 40 largest trade shows in the United States. Specifically, NACS will continue to encourage appropriate NACS members to engage with PHA; disseminate a web-based nutrition resource that could help convenience stores identify products as being healthier options and assist them in defining their better-for-you sets; continue to engage small-format stores, specifically corner stores, that are often the only food source for residents in highly rural or urban settings; develop and disseminate Drink Up marketing materials that encourage convenience store customers to stay hydrated; and emphasize wellness at the NACS office and at its industry-specific events.

“The commitment furthers the goals of NACS and our members to make a positive impact in the communities we serve, whether through charitable giving programs or helping to equip our members to truly make the healthy choice the convenient choice,” said NACS President & CEO Henry Armour.

At the PHA Summit in Washington, D.C., in May, NACS was joined by Northeast convenience store chain Cumberland Farms (Westborough, Massachusetts) in announcing commitments at the annual event, joining eight other NACS retail member companies that are already committed to expanding healthier options in their stores.

“Convenience stores serve millions of Americans every day. As NACS and its members know, most of those purchasing decisions are made in seconds,” said Larry Soler, President and CEO of the Partnership for a Healthier America. “Our innovative partnership with NACS is key to ensuring that convenience store customers can be met in the store with healthier options.”

PHA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit led by some of the nation’s most respected health and childhood obesity advocates who are supported in their efforts by Honorary Chair Michelle Obama.

“As an industry, we are committed to making a difference in the lives of the 160 million customers we serve every day, and increasingly that involves providing additional healthier options in stores. We look forward to continuing to work with PHA to celebrate our members’ commitment to the communities that they serve,” said Armour.

In addition to Cumberland Farms, eight NACS retailer members have joined PHA in previously announced commitments: Kwik Trip (La Crosse, Wisconsin), Sheetz (Altoona, Pennsylvania), Loop Neighborhood (Fremont, California), Twice Daily (Nashville, Tennessee), U-Gas (Fenton, Missouri, now operated by Wallis Oil Company), enmarket (Savannah, Georgia), Ricker’s (Anderson, Indiana) and Aloha Petroleum (Honolulu, Hawaii). Three NACS distributor members also have joined PHA: McLane Company, Core-Mark International and Esstar.