(Left to right) Benicia Police Chief Erik Upson, Solano Public Health specialist Robin Cox and Mayor Elizabeth Patterson were on hand to kick off the healthy makeover of Bob’s Liquor and Food Monday. (Photo by Elizabeth Warnimont)

The Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community project broke ground at Bob’s Liquor and Food on West J Street Monday. Dignitaries and volunteer workers, some of whom fit both categories– namely Benicia Youth Action Coalition members Patti Baron of the Benicia Police Department, City Councilmember Christina Strawbridge, and Vice Mayor Mark Hughes, among others,–were on hand early to see the project off to a strong start.
The focus of the project, part of a statewide initiative led by local public healthy agencies throughout the state, is to make healthy choices more available and to keep things like alcohol and cigarettes and their advertising less accessible to minors.
California does not score well overall as far as limiting sales of cigarettes and alcohol to minors, but Solano County scores especially low on the list, according to facts stated on the web site, healthystoreshealthycommunity.com. On the bright side, Solano County has more youth volunteers working on the current project than any other county in the state – but there is a lot of work to be done. According to the website:
* E-cigarettes are more widely available in Solano County than in the state of California overall, with easy access at almost 60 percent of stores surveyed.
* Availability of quality produce is “very low” in the county. Only ten percent of stores had good quality fresh produce, compared to a third of stores in the state overall.
* Alcohol is widely available, with 93 percent of stores here selling alcohol, compared with 71 percent statewide.
* While statewide, approximately 14 percent of adults smoke, that figure is 21 percent in Solano County.
* Statewide and locally, more than 10 percent of youth in grades 9-12 smoke, and over 20 percent of 11th-graders binge drink (Figures taken from 2009 to 2011).
The makeover at Bob’s Liquor and Food is scheduled to wrap up Friday with a community celebration from 3 to 6 p.m. Beginning at 3 p.m. Friday, the first 50 customers will receive a free bag of fresh produce.
Bob’s Liquor and Food is located at 510 West J St. The store is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information call the store at 745-1521.

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