Walgreens pilots fresh-food program

At the request of customers, Walgreens is launching a healthful, on-the-go food pilot program in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to The Associated Press.

In addition to the drugstore’s usual selection of chips, processed foods and soda, the store will be offering salads, wraps, ready-to-heat meatloaf, meats, and fresh fruits and vegetables. The program will roll out at about 30 Bay Area stores throughout the summer, and is modeled on a program launched by the drugstore last year in Chicago, which targeted “food deserts” (neighborhoods isolated from major grocery stores). In New York, Walgreens took over the Duane Reade drugstore chain and expanded its Delish line of fresh food.

Consumers’ demand for fresh food has also been reflected by similar programs popping up at other national mega-stores, including Walmart and Target.