June 2025 marked a transformative milestone for LIFTT’s Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) as participants laced up their walking shoes and gathered at Albertsons on 1212 Grand Avenue, Billings, and Van Dyke’s Supermarket in Roundup for our very first grocery store tours! With shopping carts in hand and determination in their hearts, our students explored the aisles with a new mission: shop smart, read labels, and make healthier choices.
More Than Just Groceries — A New Way to Shop
This wasn’t just a grocery run. It was a hands-on, real-life coaching experience that empowered our participants to:
- Navigate through tempting processed food aisles with confidence,
- Discover healthier, diabetes-friendly alternatives,
- Decode food labels and marketing tricks,
- And make intentional, long-term changes in their diets.
While passing by crunchy chips and colorful snack cakes wasn’t easy, after all, they are delicious! Our participants learned that change begins with awareness, and that living a healthier lifestyle doesn’t mean sacrificing joy or flavor.
Thank You to Our Partners
We are deeply grateful to Albertsons and Van Dyke’s for warmly welcoming our group into the stores and helping us create a supportive learning environment right where it matters most — where decisions are made. Your collaboration is a perfect example of what local partnerships can do to empower our community.
Our sincere appreciation also goes to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) for making this life-changing program possible, especially to Ann Lanes and Melissa House. They received funding for this grant from the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) and awarded it to LIFTT as one of three organizations. Your support enables LIFTT to extend our reach beyond the classroom and take our mission directly into the community.
A heartfelt thank you also goes to Anya Pulis and Eileen Rodriguez, LIFTT’s extraordinary Health Nutrition Coaches, whose passion, knowledge, and kindness inspire all of us to become our better, healthier selves. Their dedication and guidance are the heartbeat of our program, empowering participants to take bold steps toward lasting lifestyle change.
The Heart of the Program: Promoting Change
At its core, the LIFTT Diabetes Prevention Program is about much more than food. It’s about transformation. It’s about learning that health doesn’t happen in isolation — it happens in grocery stores, in kitchens, and in everyday choices. We believe education should be practical, interactive, and even fun — and that’s exactly what this tour was. Together, we’re proving that with the right tools, encouragement, and community support, healthier living is not only possible, it’s empowering and enjoyable!
Stay tuned for our next adventure! For more information about LIFTT’s Diabetes Prevention Program, contact LIFTT’s Nutritional Health Coaches: Anya Pulis (406) 606-1766, anyap@liftt.org, and Eileen Rodriguez at (406) 294-5185, eileenr@liftt.org
About Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT): LIFTT is a Montana 501(c)3 corporation organized as a Center for Independent Living (CIL). With team members based in Billings and Glendive, LIFTT provides aging and disabled members of the community with programs and services that help empower them to break down the physical, bureaucratic, and cultural barriers that prevent them from being fully independent participants in their lives and communities throughout 18 counties in southeastern and south-central Montana: Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, Golden Valley, McCone, Musselshell, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Rosebud, Stillwater, Treasure, Wibaux, and Yellowstone. For more information, please visit liftt.org or download our mobile app for your Apple or Android Device.
