This is a terrific segment from NPR's 'All Things Considered' about a local community sharing fellowship and helping each other to get more healthy:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102048542&ps=cprs
With only one grocery store in town, it's hard to cheat. And both the owners and the clerks at The Mercantile count calories for customers.
Co-owner Betty McNeil says some cash-register conversations go like this: "Two hundred thirty calories in that cupcake. Do you know what you're doing? Do you really want that?" she says, laughing. Then she notes that townspeople have to leave town to cheat. "It's 20 miles to the next Twinkie," she adds, laughing again.
"The Merc," as the locals call it, also aims for positive reinforcement with more fruit, vegetables and yogurt in its coolers. Demand for the good stuff has skyrocketed. And there are the signs in the storefront window charting the town's thinning waistlines.
Many thanks to the Rev. Barbara Thrall of St. Paul's in Holyoke, MA for letting me know about this inspiring story!
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