All your members have to eat to live. Maybe some even live to eat. But in modern society, they don’t have to hunt and fish. They go to their local food market and buy whatever they need.
In the process of educating members and clients about healthy food and eating, I often buy food and prepare recipes for them to sample. I have done food demonstrations for various events, and I typically make something appropriate to the topic when I teach classes.
Recently, while buying food at a local market for a class, I asked the store manager for something I needed. In the course of our conversation, I explained what I was doing and she commented that she had plans to do some community outreach. From that moment on we became partners.
This market happens to be part of a national chain of ”innovative, hard-to-find, great-tasting foods,” rather than a “supermarket.” Most, if not all of their products are natural, and often organic, and typically free of additives and preservatives. Of course that is why I was shopping there! So needless to say, this is a great partnership!
When I do a food display, I have a sign that says that this store provided the food. They take pictures of us and we take pictures of them … and the food. It’s a great advertisement for them and we get a lot of credit for going the extra mile.
We benefit in many ways from having a relationship with this market where our members shop. For one thing, this particular market emphasizes “value” over all else. We want to be associated with taking value as seriously as they do. We certainly want our members to appreciate how seriously we value their business and we reflect that with our partnerships.
A secondary benefit comes from integrating our business with products that come right into the members’ homes. And when non-members shop at the store and see our club pictures, we appear to be part of the same family. I think we have to use every opportunity at our disposal to connect to our community, and form alliances with our members and clients toward the common goal of healthier living.
Here we have another example of how we can use nutrition education as a tool to reach out and support the health and fitness goals of members and non-members alike. If one person shopping at this store sees our pictures and joins our club because they see the connection between what they eat and what we can do for their overall health, we have achieved our mission.
We will improve the lives of as many people as possible… one at a time! I would love to hear about ways other clubs have partnered with food-based companies to inspire healthier eating. What are you doing?
Judith Samuels, M.A. is a certified nutrition and wellness consultant and master personal trainer at Sport&Health Clubs in the Washington D.C. Metro Area. She can be reached via e-mail at judi@judisamuels.com.
