St. Helena’s Sunshine Foods Market earns Blue Zones Project Approval

Market becomes first approved grocery store in the Upper Napa Valley.

Blue Zones Project Upper Napa Valley hosted ribbon cutting for Sunshine Foods Market as it achieves designation as "Blue Zones Project Approved." The market is the first in the Upper Napa Valley to achieve the designation.

Sunshine Foods Market has been working through the approval process for over 6 months, which includes a Blue Zones Project Checkout Lane, markers that identify healthy options throughout the store, side of fruit options at the deli, healthy grab-and-go food boxes and so much more!

"The entire Blue Zones Project team has helped facilitate this in a smooth and straightforward way, making it easy to follow and make the changes," said Jay Smith, owner of Sunshine Foods Market. "I'm grateful to Adventist Health for helping with the funding necessary to make this happen, and to the St. Helena community, our families and our teams for supporting us in this and through the years. Without them, none of this works. It has to be through them, and the only way they can do it well is if we give them something they really believe in, and this is one of those things."

This approval is a meaningful step toward overall community designation, which brings people, places, and policy together to create an environment where healthy choices are easy to make. “Supermarkets are important partners as we work to encourage well-being in a community,” says Joaquin Razo, Executive Director for Blue Zones Project Upper Napa Valley. “Sunshine Foods has taken important steps toward making healthy choices easier for their customers, and we look forward to continuing the partnership between them and the project team.”

After cutting the ribbon, owner Jay Smith accepted both a designation sticker for the front doors and a plaque acknowledging the accomplishment. “We want to ease other people into it nice and slowly so that it's a comfortable thing for them,” Smith says. “Because we do believe in it, and we know it can be sustainable.”

To learn more about becoming a Blue Zones Project Approved Grocery Store, contact the Blue Zones Project team in Upper Napa Valley at bzpuppernapavalley@sharecare.com or check out the video below from our very own, Jay Smith!