For more information, contact:
Brandon Holm
Extension Associate
Cooperative Extension & Outreach, University of Guam
Tel: (671) 735-2020
Email: holmb@triton.uog.edu

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 Six local food retailers have pledged to promote healthy food and physical activity in a total of 13 store locations over the next year by taking the 5-2-1-Almost None Pledge in October.

The 5-2-1-Almost None campaign, headed by the University of Guam’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) program in collaboration with the Department of Public Health and Social Services, promotes the daily habits of:

* eating five servings of fruits and vegetables
* limiting screen time to two hours or less
* getting at least one hour of physical activity, and
* drinking almost no sugar-sweetened beverages.

“The overall goal of SNAP-Ed and 5-2-1-Almost None is to help make the healthy choice the easy choice,” said Brandon Holm, project lead of the 5-2-1-Almost None program. “Our food store partnerships will help Guam to make better food and snack choices and to be active, and we are excited to work with these partners to launch the campaign activities this year.”

The participating businesses — Agat Kimchee Store, Cost-U-Less Express, all Pay-Less Markets, Paulino’s Store, Tutujan Quick Stop, and Yigo Island Pantry — will be displaying 5-2-1-Almost None messages, labeling items as “Smart Snacks” that follow the national nutrition standards for healthy levels of fat, sugar, and sodium, and hosting cooking demonstrations, fruit and vegetable tastings, store tours, and nutrition education.

“There is strength in a unified approach. Collaboration with SNAP-Ed is a win-win for our business and customers alike,” said Rosae Calvo, a registered dietitian and supermarket nutritionist at Pay-Less Supermarket. “Our partnership with SNAP-Ed helps us fulfill our mission of providing an ‘exciting food shopping destination’ and ‘care for our community’ by bringing interactive activities to our stores to promote healthy behaviors. Aligning our Health Smart program with the 5-2-1-Almost None principles, we can support cohesive messages that are echoed in various areas of the community.”

SNAP-Ed will continue to create partnerships to get the campaign into more food stores in more villages.

For more information about SNAP-Ed and the 5-2-1-Almost None campaign, please visit, uog.edu/extension/community-nutrition-education-program.