Irvine, Calif.-based St. Joseph Hoag Health is partnering with supermarkets Ralphs and Food 4 Less to host the third season of "Shop with Your Doc" events geared toward helping residents of Orange County make healthy eating choices.
From mid-October to November, St. Joseph Hoag Health physicians and other healthcare experts will be stationed at Ralphs and Food 4 Less grocery stores to provide shoppers with nutritional advice and blood pressure checks.
The initiative is intended to stem Orange County's rising obesity rates. About half of teenage residents are overweight or obese, as are more than 60 percent of adults, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
"At St. Joseph Hoag Health, we recognize that curtailing obesity requires education that reaches the community in a personalized way," said Richard Afable, MD, president and CEO of the health system. "Our Shop with Your Doc partnership with Ralphs/Food 4 Less is in its third year of successfully connecting with residents at the precise time and place in which their dietary choices are being made. By building nutrition awareness at the neighborhood supermarket, this annual undertaking makes it easy and enjoyable for people to access the expert information they need to shop smart, achieve or maintain a healthy diet and, ultimately, prevent future health problems."
During Shop with Your Doc events, shoppers can tour the grocery stores with physicians, registered dieticians and other St. Joseph Health experts and ask questions on ingredients, labels, vitamins and food groups.
The events will be hosted at the following locations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.:
• Thursday, Oct. 20 - Food 4 Less, 315 E. First St., Santa Ana
• Monday, Oct. 24 - Ralphs, 2555 Eastbluff Dr., Newport Beach
• Friday, Oct. 28 - Ralphs, Hillcrest Park Center, 1121 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton
• Wednesday, Nov. 9 - Ralphs, 19081 Goldenwest St., Huntington Beach
• Saturday, Nov. 12 - Ralphs, 26751 Portola Parkway, Foothill Ranch
• Monday, Nov. 14 - Food4Less, 1616 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim
• Wednesday, Nov. 16 - Food 4 Less, 914 W. Orangethorpe Ave., Fullerton
• Monday, Nov. 28 - Ralphs, 17605 Harvard Ave., Irvine