’age 6/The Battalion/Tuesday, May 3, 1983
Health food trends in B-CS area
on the rise, store managers say
by Brigid Brockman
Battalion Staff
Consumers traditionally have
considered cost, convenience
and family preferences in their
food choices, but recently shop
pers have shown an increasing
concern for nutrition quality,
food safety and the overall
“healthfulness” of the food
supply, local store managers say.
Bill Sharon, manager of the
Kroger Family Center in Col
lege Station, said he sees a grow
ing trend toward better nutri
tion and believes consumers are
buying healthier foods.
Kroger and Safeway Store
Inc. in College Station each re
cently added nutrition centers
because of a consumer demand
for natural foods.
The nutrition centers selljust
about everything — but the
foods have more fiber, less sugar
and salt and less refined white
Hour than processed foods. All
of the foods are natural, with no
preservatives or additives.
“The acceptance of the Nut
rition Center by the shoppers
has been overwhelming — espe
cially with the younger shop
pers,” Sharon said.
Dan Feldman, assistant man
ager of Safeway, also said the
store’s nutrition center seems
more popular with younger
shoppers.
Carmen Lovell, consumer
affairs specialist for Kroger, said
college students are becoming
informed about good health and
nutrition and are eating more
natural foods — but they’re not
the only ones following the
health food trend.
Lovell said many people are
becoming concerned about the
dangers of additives. But some
consumers have misconceptions
about many food additives.
“Many consumers believe
stores add red dye to meat or
they spray the apples with some
kind of chemical, but they are
misguided,” she said.
Sharon and Feldman both
said low sodium products sell
very well in the stores — more
than products low in sugar. But,
they said, the sugar-free and caf
feine-free soft drinks are big sel
lers.
But as popular as soft drinks
are, water probably still is the
most consumed liquid, say the
managers. But some people are
beginning to shy away from
“The acceptance of the
Nutrition Center by the
shoppers has been over
whelming — especially
with the younger shop
pers. ”
products and natural foods are
more expensive than the other
food products, but spending a
little more on health foods
might save money, said Allah
Needles, sales manager of The
General Nutrition Center in
Post Oak Mall.
“People are moving away
from the clinical approach to
health. They are more in
terested in self-help, so they are
going back to the basics and eat
ing better foods.”
Needles said the high protein
candy bars, which are low in
calories, are selling the best right
when they
groceries
drinking tap water — claiming
the water has too many chemic
als or has too high a concentra
tion of sodium.
Instead of drinking tap wa
ter, some people are buying
their water in bottles. Feldman
said bottled water sells well with
many students who don’t like
the water in Bryan and College
Station.
Bottled water, low sodium
“Sugar-free stuff sells strong
this time of year because people
want to fit into those bathing
suits.”
Even though natural foods
are generally more expensive,
GNC can sell natural foods as
cheaply as Kroger or Safeway
because it is a large chain, Nee
dles said.
Ann Burns, owner of Calico
Natural Foods in Bryan, said her
business has decreased since
UDENT
IRNMENT
INI V li R S I T Y
T INVOLVED!
)
Applications are being accepted for each
ar ea of the Executive Branch:
• PROGRAMS
Parents' Day Chairman
Muster Chairman
Big Event Chairman
COSGA Chairman
Blood Drive — Living Bank Chairman
PERSONNEL
Freshman Programs Chairman
University Committee Chairman
Leadership Development Chairman
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Crime Awareness Chairman
Traditions Council Chairman
INFORMATION
Communications Chairman
Data Processing Chairman
Census & Research Chairman
BUSINESS AFFAIRS
Assistant Comptroller
Refrigerator Manager
Applications are available in the Student Govemnient
Office at the Pavilion
DEADLINE: THURSDAY, MAY 5 5:00 P.M
Be sure and sign up for an interview.
Kroger and Safeway opened
nutrition centers.
She said many store sales
were for the more popular
items, like crackers or tea. When
Kroger and Safeway opened
their nutrition centers, custom
ers began buying those items
;y shor
>pped for
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Burns said because Kroger
and Safeway deal on such a large
scale, they can sell natural foods
cheaper than smaller health
food stores.
But customers still come to
her store to buy the natural
grains and flours.
“There are some people who
want foods that have been orga
nically grown and that have no
commercial fertilizers,” Burns
said.
Calico Natural Foods has a
complete line of low salt pro
ducts, which includes mayon
naise, mustard, pickles, hot
sauce, flour and pasta. But
Burns said the most popular
items — besides vitamins — are
the herbs.
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feet or
staff photo by GujHg I
That’s news to me
These five mischievious cadets of Squadron-15 have
a little fun before finals by filling up their upper
classman’s room with newspapers. Pranks like these
are occurring more frequently, due to the upcoming
cram sessions and the excitement of finally ending
the the school year after all that hard work.
Council
election
okays
results
by Scott Griffin
Battalion Staff
The Bryan City Council
approved the run-off election
results for the place 5 council
seat in their meeting Monday
night.
The run-off had been be
tween Helen Chavarrria and
Hugh C. Barnett. Chavarria
won the election, thus becoming
the first woman to be elected to
the council.
In the run-off, Chavarria
wound up with 1,671 votes to
1,450 for Barnett.
Chavarria was formally in
stalled as a council member at
the meeting.
In other action, the council:
— Elected Councilman Pies
Turner to fill the spot of Mayor
Pro Tern by a unanimous vote.
Turner is the senior member of
council, having served seven
years. The job is traditionally
given to the councilman with
longest tenure.
— Considered the establish
ment of a large city park and Uie
maintenance of existing facili
ties. Turner said that he would
E Unitct
W ASH I
im Co
like to see the development: l n
major park in the city andwt 11 all(m
like to see some beautificalio: ■ an< ‘
older facilities. 8$ l 11 . e
■ crime
— Reviewed the usage of; ""
dollars in street maihtenanl 1 blac
Councilman Peyton Waller a 1 str °l
maintenance of streetsissott
ly, the council should tnBj 1 ^ 01 *
study which roads needrept fe oaiK ^
ing most and set those upat! PS sto
high priority items.
— Considered changesim
garbage pickup hours. Coun
man John Mobley said hem
the garbage collection hoimi
tended. City Manager Ei
Clark said the city is cut
revising its garbage pickup
dule.
times b
36,
— Called for a city«i
beautification effort. Ma
Ron Blatchley said this iso
area of special concern tok
Blatchley said many busine
and homes around town
cleaning up and that com ||
members should make ink 1
responsibility to alert thepui
of the problem.
A
Baby deaths di[
United Press International
HOUSTON — Infant mortal
ity rates in Houston dropped to
an estimated 9.75 infant deaths
per 1,000 live births in 1982 — a
dramatic decrease over previous
years, statistics showed Monday.
“If there’s one indicator
you’d take to see how public
health in a city is doing, that’s the
one you would pick out,” said
Marcus Key, interim director of
the Health Department.
Key said Houston’s infant
mortality rate in 1982 was good
compared to a 1981 rate of
13.74 deaths per 1,000 births.
Out of the 38,033 babies born
to Houston women in 1982, 371
died before they reached one
year of age. One year of age is
the cut-off point in considering
a child an infant according to the
official definition of infant mor
tality.
Among whites, thq^ infant
mortality rate was 7.85 deaths
per 1,000 births, while the rate
for blacks was 14.92 Heaths
1,000 live births.
The city’s overall 1982n
much lower than the 11.2
estimated for the nationdi
the same year. Officials
may be the first time in the
history that the rate was
than the national rate.
The exact reasons fortht
proved rate were not known,
Key said one possible factor
the drop was the U.S. Dep
ment of Agriculture’s Won*
Infants and Children food*
plement program.
Through that program, 1
city health department canf 1
vide food supplements to 2*
pregnant women, nuisi
mothers and their babies c' (
month.
“The WIC program mu*
working,” Key said.
Key said health off* 1
would study the rate to ftp
explain Houston’s decreast
infant mortality.
Klan rally, Alamo
guarded by police
United Press International
SAN ANTONIO — Ku Klux
Klansmen who had wanted to
guard the Alamo against com
munist-oriented May Day de
monstrations were themselves
kept away from the shrine of
Texas liberty by a barricade and
instead marched a few blocks
away.
The 20 men, dressed in their
traditional hooded robes and
carrying American and Texas
flags, were ringed by riot-
equipped police during their 15-
minute demonstration down-
Alamo, which was partial^
ricaded with a wire fence
The Alamo remained »P
for tourists.
Klan Grand Dragon Chu
Lee said last week that
clothed Klansmen wanted
patrol the shrine, thesiteofil
Day demonstrations by c°]
munist groups in 1980 J
1981, but C|ty Council de®' 1
the Klan’s permit request.
town.
Spectators, many of them
yelling anti-Klan remarks, were
held a block away from the
march by roadblocks and police
barricades.
No violence was reported as
officers in plain clothes moni
tored crowds that gathered in
streets adjacent to the parade
route. Still more officers per
ched on nearby roofs.
A separate contingent of
police stood guard inside the
Patrolman E. Gerra
firmed that 300 extra police# 1 ’
were assigned to duty Sufld 1
afternoon. Officials had ^
mated earlier the extra sec* 1 *
measures would cost ab 0
$30,000.
Members of the All P
Congress were on hand,
ing “Death to the Klan’ and^
rying a banner that
“Reagan and the Klan W
Hand in Hand.”
The APC held a brief bloc
long march after the Klans®'
were escorted to a waiting
and driven away.