Kaiser Permanente Opens Health Food Store in Oakland Facility
Oakland-based HMO Kaiser Permanente has partnered with a natural food store to open a store in its Kaiser Oakland Medical Center, a venture that could be the first of its kind in the nation, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The store -- called Food Farm'acy -- is owned and operated by Oakland-based Food Mill. The inventory is approved by Kaiser's Oakland physician in chief Tom McDonald, who has "non-negotiable" requirements that foods be low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-carbohydrate and low-sodium with no trans fats and no sugar, the Chronicle reports.
The market, which is open to the public, offers prices similar to those at the original Food Mill store and comparable to those at other natural food stores.
McDonald hopes similar stores will be opened in other Kaiser facilities (Fletcher, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/3).