Last night was my family’s first Little League game of the year. Yay! Last year was a little weird, and it’s exciting to be back in the stands—and the concession stands. In fact, I’ll be working the concession stand tonight.
Concessions stands don’t usually pride themselves on serving the world’s healthiest foods. Last night, I had a healthy salad for dinner so I could enjoy my favorite baseball “sometimes food” at the game — my first jalapeno nachos of the season. Balance, right?
But, in our Working on Wellness Environments program, we talk about supporting healthy eating through changes to policy, systems, and environment (PSE). Dr. Jenna Anding, my Extension Foods and Nutrition colleague, encourages healthy concession stand policies as a way to change the local food environment. (The fact is that concessions are very much a part of the local food system for many families with kids in multiple activities.)
Jenna stresses that we don’t need to take away the nachos, hot Cheetos, takis, or other yummy but less than healthy options; we can also offer healthy choices alongside those staples.
She provides a simple framework adapted from Laroche HH et al. (Journal of Public Health, 2014; see also Laroche HH et al., 2017: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5228366/)
Step 1. Research
- Foods offered
- What healthy foods will people buy?
- Ability to sell of healthier foods/drinks
Step 2.
- Find and work with food vendors to get the healthier options.
- Identify needed infrastructure to sell new foods/drinks
Step 3.
Pilot the sale of selected healthy food items; use sales data to make final decisions.
Step 4.
Implement permanent changes to food and drink choices offered.
Step 5.
Continue to evaluate sales revenue; offer new healthy options as needed (see steps 2-3)
My role as the project economist is to consider whether healthy items can still turn a profit. After all, if they were profitable, wouldn’t they already be on the menu?
A few simple examples show that healthy snacks can turn a decent profit:
Chips $1.00 – 26¢ cost = 74¢ profit
Candy $1.00 – 65¢ cost = 35¢ profit
Banana $1.00 – 20¢ cost = 80¢ profit
Apple $1.00 – 34¢ cost = 66¢ profit
Mandarins $1.00 – 44¢ cost = 56¢ profit
Hot Dog $2.00 -28¢ cost = $1.72 profit
Ham Sandwich $2.00 – $1.25 cost = 75¢
–at $3.00, profit is $1.75
And then drinks. Don’t even start. Tea or coffee is more profitable than soda, especially if signage points to unsweetened tea and black coffee being the healthy options.
I suspect the choices at convenience stores come down to convenience. Jenna has found that youth will select fresh fruit even when candy is available. Candy can be purchased in bulk before the season begins. Fruit has a considerably shorter shelf life. You don’t make a profit on fruit you don’t sell.
My family does sometimes make healthy concession choices, especially when we’ve eaten at the ball field or the show barn more than a couple of times within a few days.
When we think about changing the food environment, some parents may be willing to step up and offer to purchase leftover product. Don’t we already do that with less healthy options like cold, limp hotdogs? Schools and sports teams may also be able to set aside funds or apply for seed funding to try new healthy options.
It just may pay off.
Check out the WOWE Action Institute resources for more idea to improve food policy, systems, and environment in your community.