Fresh cheese and sausage, without spending your whole paycheck

Queso fresco, freshly made chorizo, pre-cut nopales and a pile of ready-to-eat mangoes are a few of the unexpected finds inside Discolandia, a small mom-and-pop shop in Richmond that looks, from the outside, like a typical corner store. 

Norberto Guevara has owned Discolandia, located on Richmond’s 23rd Street corridor, for 20 years. The store has always stocked traditional Mexican products, including fresh produce, says Jorge Lerma, a co-owner of the store for the past five years.

But recently, Discolandia began to take a more active approach to promoting healthy foods. Too many Latinos are facing serious preventable health problems. Over ten percent have diabetes, and Latino children born today in the United States have a 50 percent chance of contracting the disease, according to the Joslin Diabetes Center.

With the help of West County HEAL, a collaborative organization devoted to promoting healthy eating and active living in two Richmond neighborhoods, Discolandina is doing its part to reverse those health trends.

The mangoes, avocados, and summer squash that are a traditional part of the Latino diet are now displayed prominently in the front of the store. So are a host of healthy treats: loose cherries, bagged granola and roasted, spiced navy beans.

The dairy case holds milk, yogurt and infant formula, required items as the store moves towards accepting payments from WIC, a federal food assistance program for low-income women and children.

These changes help provide what local Latinos need to resume the healthy diet that's historically defined their culinary traditions, Lerma said. Ultimately, small steps add up to better health.

Listen to Lerma describe the store’s roots in traditional Mexican cuisine in the audio clip above, including a simple recipe for cooking nopales. Stay tuned for our upcoming story on repairing health disparities in Richmond, featuring Lerma and other members of the HEAL collaborative.