Guiding Stars
Strengthening Our Commitment to Health: PHA and Guiding Stars
At the Partnership for a Healthier America, our mission is to ensure every family has access to good food. A critical component of this mission is providing clear, science-based information that empowers consumers to make healthier choices. We are proud to be collaborating with Guiding Stars to do just that.
A Foundation of Transparency
Our history with Guiding Stars’ parent company, Ahold Delhaize USA - who owns familiar grocery retail brands like Food Lion, The GIANT Company, Giant Food, Hannaford and Stop & Shop - is rooted in a shared commitment to a transparent and sustainable food landscape.
In 2020, Ahold Delhaize USA made a commitment to public health by pledging that, by June 2025, at least 54% of its private brand food sales would come from products achieving one, two, or three stars through the Guiding Stars program. This collaboration established a new industry standard for transparency, with Ahold Delhaize USA becoming the first major grocery retailer to publicly disclose the percentage of total store food sales generated from healthier, star-rated products.
Guiding Stars as a Standard for PHA Programs
Building on this momentum, PHA will utilize Guiding Stars to help rate the nutritional quality of food and beverages, translating complex nutrition facts into an easy-to-understand rating of one, two, or three stars. Through this partnership, PHA will use the Guiding Stars nutrition standard to help evaluate and qualify products for our various programs. We recognize Guiding Stars as an approved method for qualifying products for inclusion in our public health initiatives. Qualified products must earn at least one Guiding Star.
You can learn more about how Guiding Stars evaluates products on their website.
Looking Ahead
By integrating Guiding Stars into PHA programs, we are simplifying the path to better health choices for millions of Americans and ensuring that the food we promote is not only accessible but also independently verified for its nutritional value.
Together with Guiding Stars and our partners at Ahold Delhaize USA, we are continuing to shift the retail environment toward a future where the healthy choice is always the easy choice.
At Ahold Delhaize USA, everyday food choices play a critical role in personal well-being and the long-term health of our planet, Guiding Stars has helped millions of customers confidently identify nutritious options, and we’re proud to deepen our collaboration with PHA to make these trusted insights even more meaningful.