Living in a small town in America has its pros and cons. The pros? Wide-open spaces and simpler living, a neighborly connection to the people around you, and being surrounded by nature, which soothes the soul. The cons? However, there’s little access to the conveniences of urban life. There’s maybe one Uber driver in town, if that, and there are no Whole Foods within an hour’s drive. Not to mention, the words “y’all” and “ain’t” and the phrase “bless your heart” are heard around every corner. I’ll let you decide if that’s a pro or con.
So, suffice it to say that I do my own grocery shopping. I like it, honestly. I’m a former registered dietitian, so I like looking at food labels and getting satisfaction in knowing I chose (in my own opinion) the right product of the grocery store shelf. But, what’s my ultimate goal? Frankly, it’s pretty simple. I just want to fill my family’s bellies with healthy meals. But there’s one important factor standing in the way: How much money should it take to put healthy meals on the table? Simply stated, its bellies filled without bank account emptied.
When you consider quality in health care, it’s easy to be influenced by shiny objects like marketing, advertising and the familiarity of brand names. Umm, sounds a lot like shopping for anything else, right?
A few years ago, I sauntered around the aisles of the new Aldi grocery store that had just opened in my town. Change isn’t easy, so I didn’t even grab a cart when I walked in. I was only there to see what all the fuss was about. Here’s what I observed. First of all, you “rent” your cart by inserting a quarter into the mechanisms that lock them in place so that they aren’t strewn all over the parking lot, dinging car doors, and requiring a paid staff member to round them up
Having spent the past six years deeply engaged in research also makes Mitigate Partners sought-after speakers and authors as well. Their recent speaking engagements have led them to the National Community Pharmacy Association as well as to the Substance Use and the Workplace Community Forum (Opioid Abuse) in Morganton, NC which included North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein in the speaking lineup.
Read the full article here → What if we bought groceries the same way we bought health care?
