Sobeys partners with health centre to offer program for new moms

New moms hoping to shed post-pregnancy weight are getting nutrition tips right in their grocery stores with a new program launched at Sobeys stores in Halifax. Called Food After Baby (FAB), the three-week program is a joint venture between the grocer and Halifax’s IWK Health Centre. Groups of up to 20 moms, often referred by IWK, gather with their babies in community rooms at Sobeys for free educational workshops hosted by the store’s dietitian. Then they’re taken on tours of the store to get practical advice on healthy food choices. “We have the best nutrition education classroom because we have all the food right here,” said Jennifer Hamm, a registered dietitian with Sobeys. “The magic happens when we take them up and down the aisles and show them the power of planning meals.” The program was first started at IWK in 1999 and geared to women with gestational diabetes. The Centre partnered exclusively with Sobeys in 2011, and this year launched the program under its new name with a heavy focus on nutrition. “The IWK values its relationship with the professional dieticians working throughout Sobeys in Halifax Regional Municipality,” said Catherine Walsh, clinical dietitian, Maternal Newborn Program. “This community partnership is an excellent example of meeting people where they live, work and play to provide accessible nutrition care to women, children and families.” The impact on business is another positive outcome, says Hamm. “The people referred to us from IWK may become regular customers who would never have crossed into the store otherwise,” she said. For now the program is rotating between 12 Sobeys stores in the region but Hamm says the goal is to expand to other parts of Atlantic Canada and eventually to other parts of the country where there are Sobeys dietitians. “Really, the sky’s the limit,” she said.