March is National Nutrition Month®! This year’s theme is “Food Connects Us.” This education and awareness campaign is led by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the largest professional nutrition association in the world. Launched 51 years ago, it continues to raise awareness about all of the benefits  eating well brings to our health and our lives.

So much about food connects us – to family, to community, to culture and spirituality. Food nourishes relationships and fuels exploration. Family recipes connect generations, affirming and honoring shared memories and history. Food transports us around the world via culinary journeys where we discover new foods and flavors, plate by plate, without leaving our own table. Food delivers joy and caring, through celebrations and challenges.

The information used to create these connections is empowered by the education and work of Registered Dietitian-Nutritionists (RDNs) and Dietetic Technicians, Registered (NDTRs). We are trained from molecules to menu, from farm to physiology, and required to continue that training throughout our careers, to ensure we can deliver authentic, safe, wholesome, nutritious, appetizing food to individuals and populations. Our work facilitates food and nutrition-focused prevention, healthful growth and lifelong vitality, and treatment of injury and illness. RDNs continually drive food and nutrition research and communications that are evidence-based and cutting edge. It is a dynamic profession, and I am grateful and proud to be part of it in this role for our company and the communities we serve.

Food connects us – our Market 32 and Price Chopper teams hope you and your family can create all the joy, nourishment, health and healing you need with the foods we offer in our stores. The warmth of a bowl of soup, the excitement of a special cake, the perfect ingredient for your new recipe, the treat in the lunchbox that gives a little moment of love to your child, and the crunch of an apple that energizes you and supports local farmers – food connects us all.