With spring planting just around the corner, local organizations are looking for new ways to promote the value of fresh produce as part of a nutritious diet for improved health.
“The following applies to all of us: the more colorful and fresher, the better. Those are two simple rules, ”said Barb Duryea, clinical support manager at the Conemaugh Diabetes Institute.
She referred to the Department of Agriculture’s My Plate tool, which is based on a traditional place setting to illustrate parts of five food groups: vegetables, fruits, grains, proteins and dairy products.
“Every time you sit down to eat and look at your plate, you divide it in half,” said Duryea. “Half of it should be fresh fruits and vegetables.”
Fresh produce has the highest nutritional value, followed by fresh frozen produce and then canned produce, Caitlyn Miller said during a program at Highlands Health Clinic, 315 Locust St.
As part of her internship as a nutritionist at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Miller is developing a virtual grocery program to help customers at the free clinic make healthier choices. The My Plate tool will be presented in part of the video presentation.
Low-income families who rely on the free clinic often make ends meet with the help of food banks and the grocery stamp program, Miller said. This can lead to the selection of inexpensive foods that are often not as healthy.
“The goal of this program is to give them this virtual shopping spree so that they understand that being inexpensive is not the best way for your health in the long run,” Miller said.
The patient education tool reflects the broader mission of Highlands Health, said managing director Rosalie Danchanko.
“The mission is not just medicine and pharmacy, but wellness too,” said Danchanko. “We wouldn’t be sure if we didn’t give patients the tools to stay healthy.”
The customers of the free clinic aren’t the only ones facing difficult eating habits. When the Diabetes Institute surveyed patients, those responsible found that food insecurity was a real problem for many.
Two screening questions used during a pilot program at the institute will be rolled out across the Conemaugh health system, Duryea said. Both ask about the lack of food in the apartment.
“When we started our first little pilot at the Diabetes Institute, I was overwhelmed by those who screened positive,” said Duryea. “I didn’t expect it to be that high.”
Conemaugh has taken two steps to tackle food insecurity: Instead of Christmas gifts for employees, the system is donating to regional food banks starting this month. And the Diabetes Institute founded the Eat Right (food) pharmacy, which provides long-life food boxes for those who test positive for food insecurity.
“That will help the individual in the short term,” said Duryea. “It should be a short-term bridge to connect people with sustainable support.”
Eat Right Pharmacy is also developing healthy eating programs for local food banks, starting with the Moxham Food Pantry, now managed by Goodwill of the Southern Alleghenies, 540 Central Ave.
Richard Lobb, the pantry coordinator, said Conemaugh’s nutritionists worked with his organization to provide boxes for diabetics.
“The next step for us is to look at fresh food from Sandyvale and other community gardens and build that network,” said Lobb. “We know that healthy food will be more important than ever.”
The collaborative project is one of several developed as part of an initiative by Vision Together 2025 and the Jefferson Center for Population Health from 1889. With federal support from the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Project Steering Committee brought together more than two dozen local organizations, businesses and government agencies dealing with food and nutrition. Planning continued for months, including a two-day virtual workshop in October.
More than 40 people took part in the 16-hour program, according to Leanna Bird, project manager at the Population Health Center.
“Everyone in the community who had anything to do with food was invited,” Bird said.
The workshop drafted a Community Action Plan for Local Food and Local Places, which will be rolled out with community meetings this month.
Several other collaborations have already emerged from the Local Foods, Local Places project. Companies are looking for ways to add value to a network of community gardens that they already partner with Sandyvale Community Gardens and Conservancy Inc.
Diana Kabo is Secretary of the Sandyvale Organization and acts as Education Coordinator. Volunteers prepare to grow hundreds of vegetables in the Sandyvale greenhouse. The plants will later be distributed in the city’s community gardens.
“We encourage the community to plant a garden and take care of it,” she said. Fresh produce from the gardens is free to those who harvest them.
The greenhouse also has a hydroponic system that supplies food banks, soup kitchens, and other agencies with produce.
“We’re trying to encourage people in the community to eat better foods,” said Kabo. “It is cheaper to buy (fast food) than to prepare a healthy meal for your family.”
The Cambria County Backpack Project is also involved in working with the gardens. The program provides food to hundreds of children in the area who are at risk of starvation on the weekends if they do not have access to school-based meals.
Lisa Stofko, project coordinator, said the organization is working with interns to improve the nutritional quality of take-away meals. In addition, the program hopes to expand opportunities for participating families.
“We are working with other organizations to connect our families to other resources where they can get fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Stofko.
She attributed expanded nutritional options to the Local Foods, Local Places program.
“There is really an effort to be more collaborative so that we can better connect people with additional resources,” said Stofko.
