Guest blog written by Ellie Wilson, MS, RD Senior Nutritionist, Price Chopper Supermarkets

Father’s Day is a time to celebrate dads, and show them how much they mean to you. It often includes a nice meal, sleeping late, maybe a cool gadget or gift. When I think about how fatherhood has evolved, especially over the last twenty years, I am particularly struck by how much more men cook, and how many more are concerned with nutrition, for themselves and their children.

We also see many more fathers shopping, and the number grows each day. We hear from them about the resources we have in place, including the NuVal Nutrition Scoring system at Price Chopper, and how they use it as part of taking care of themselves and their children. I would like to share some of their comments, and hope we inspire the fathers in our Price Chopper communities use NuVal to care for themselves and their families.

From Josh Weinstock, (NY, father of two): “The NuVal labeling system has been a wonderful learning experience for my family.  Seeing the NuVal labels in the weekly ads has led to many discussions around our kitchen table.  My kids have learned what ingredients make a product healthy and unhealthy.  We often pull items out of our pantry to compare the nutritional labels and buy brands accordingly.  NuVal has been a fun and practical educational experience for all of us.”

From Paul Merson (CT, father of three):  My wife and I are the parents of three teenagers.  I, as the father, do the primary grocery shopping for the family.  Price Chopper and the NuVal System work to make good and easy nutritional choices.  When one of my teenagers accompanies me to shop, looking at The NuVal numbers almost turns into a game of products versus numbers that we can agree upon. 

Ray Caouette, (NY Two-time heart attack survivor, father of seven): “After my heart attacks, the learning curve on eating more healthfully was arduous. NuVal has made it easy for my wife and I to take care of our health, help me protect my heart, and help me point my children in the right direction.”

Fred DeNovio (NY, father of one): “I can quickly make a healthier choice between two similar products by using the NuVal system.”

Fred’s words bring home another phenomenon we hear from men about NuVal – that they have more choices at the shelf, and that they can participate more in choosing healthier foods for their families. As a colleague, Dr. John May, rather funnily put it, “not only can we help with the shopping, but if we have to get an item that is not on the list, the NuVal score can be part of our defense for our choice!” I know that has worked for my husband too!

Enjoy your Father’s Day, and then enjoy better nutrition with your family, using NuVal at Price Chopper. Here’s to a HealthyU!