PHILADELPHIA – Today’s conventional food distribution system is not designed to efficiently and effectively serve small stores in underserved communities, and a new report developed by The Food Trust aims to address this challenge and present ideas for future discussions.

“Healthy Food and Small Stores” looks at how traditional distribution systems are not built to serve small stores, resulting in a lack of healthy, fresh foods in the communities that need them most.

The report summarizes findings from an October 2015 meeting, “Healthy Food in Small Stores: Distribution Opportunities to Improve Community Health,” in which NACS and NACS member Kwik Trip served as presenters. The meeting was co-hosted by The Food Trust and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to build connections among experts and help overcome distribution challenges in ways that are profitable for businesses and provide better access to healthy foods in stores.

In addition to preliminary findings, the report shares five case studies of companies (including Kwik Trip) that have innovative ways to deliver fresh food in stores. It also provides research, policy and capacity building recommendations to move forward.

“We are delighted to work with The Food Trust and like-minded groups to help address the challenges that small-format stores face in serving their communities. Our reFresh initiative shares many of these same objectives, and we look forward to working toward solutions for small-format stores,” said NACS Vice President of Strategic Industry Initiatives Jeff Lenard, who served as a moderator during the October 2015 meeting.

The report is one of several resources available on the NACS reFresh page.