ALEXANDRIA, Va. – NACS is the first retail association to commit to the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), with programs designed to help guide convenience stores to make healthier choices available to their customers. On this week’s Convenience Matters podcast, “Partnering for Healthier Convenience,” cohosts Jeff Lenard and Carolyn Schnare of NACS talk through the components of the agreement.

Over the next three years, NACS will make available key resources to help its members determine how to 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. You can read more details about the recent announcement here.

Lenard and Schnare detail each of the four elements of the commitment and how NACS retailers and suppliers can realize each component over the next three years of the agreement. Details and programs will begin to roll out over the next several months and be made available to applicable members.

“Retailers have to change the mindset of the consumer. He or she doesn’t always grab that apple you have at checkout right away and it may take a while before they grasp onto the idea that you have produce and other healthy snacks. This is going to be a cultural shift with the retailers, with the suppliers, with the community of consumers—it is simply changing the conversation,” said Schnare.

A new Convenience Matters podcast will be released every week, focusing on topics related to convenience stores. Episodes of Convenience Matters can be downloaded on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and at convenience-matters.com. Since its launch in February 2016, it has been downloaded in more than 65 countries, and total downloads per week have doubled over the past year.