The Value of Our Health

El Valor de Nuestra Salud \[The Value of Our Health\] is a 5-year study (2010-2014) involving grocery stores in San Diego County funded by the National Cancer Institute. The purpose of the study is to determine whether an in-store program can promote healthy foods through grocery stores. Sixteen stores in San Diego County participated in El Valor de Nuestra Salud. The stores that participated in this study were randomly assigned to either the intervention (program and evaluation) or control (evaluation only) group. We tested various strategies to promote healthy food shopping among customers of small-to-medium size Latino/Hispanic grocery stores. These strategies included changes to the store environment, food marketing efforts, and training of sales associates. Our evaluation protocol is designed to determine whether the project was successful at improving aspects of the store and the employees, as well as whether customers shop for and eat healthier food products. Customers were recruited as they enter the store to participate in project interviews and objective weight measures at baseline, 6-months post-baseline, and 12-months post-baseline. The primary aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of the El Valor de Nuestra Salud intervention on consumption of fruits and vegetables among store customers.