Kaiser Permanente Health Group Promotes Organics & Healthy Living

San Francisco Business Journal

Published: February 7, 2005
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Kaiser Permanente has augmented its recent focus on healthy eating
and organic food by opening a Food Mill-Food Farm'acy store in its
flagship Oakland Medical Center complex.

The store is an independently owned unit of the Food Mill natural
foods store, which has run its original store in Oakland for more than 60
years. It quietly launched its second facility early last month in a
mixed medical office, parking and commercial complex across the
street from Kaiser's hospital on MacArthur Boulevard. The Kaiser branch was
the inspiration of Tom McDonald, M.D., physician in chief at the Kaiser
Oakland medical center, who approached Food Mill with the plan,
designed to help Kaiser patients and employees get healthier.

According to Kaiser, Food Mill has stipulated that it will:

Stock only food that is "compatible" with weight-control programs
offered at the medical center.

Give Kaiser Oakland employees a 5 percent discount on all products,
as well as volume discounts.

Sell Kaiser health education materials and reserve space on-site for
a Kaiser health educator to help consumers make wise shopping
decisions.

Provide catered meals for meetings at the Oakland medical center.

The new health-food store planned to celebrate its official "grand
opening" Feb. 3, according to McDonald, who calls this the next step
in Kaiser's recent string of attempts to link the Kaiser brand with
healthy food and healthy approaches to diet and exercise, including its $40
million Thrive ad campaign and its branding of broccoli in several
large grocery chains.

"It's a place where it's safe to shop," McDonald said. "The food has
no trans fat and is low in saturated fat, the grains and flours are
whole grain products, the deli food is low fat, and the food doesn't
present a sugar load to your blood stream."


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