Dear Fellow Travelers:
Yesterday (Dec 6), Joyce and I had the pleasure of talking with Susanne Robertson, a professional dietitian who works with Community Servings based in the general area of Boston Massachusetts. According to information on its website (http://www.servings.org) this nonprofit organization delivers homestyle meals each day to some 1300 people in a 215 square mi. area of eastern Massachusetts. The recipients of these meals are too sick to cook for themselves or their families.
Last year Community Servings delivered almost 400,000 meals via a network of some 1500 volunteers; 95% of the recipients were below the poverty level. Suzanne and others in the nutrition/education program have developed and serve as many as 25 different menus that are medically appropriate for their clients; they are currently caring for people with 35 different life-threatening types of illness. Additionally Community Servings has a nutritional education and counseling program to assist clients and community members by telephone or workshops to help the community to understand the importance of proper diet and nutrition.
Community Servings lives up to its motto Delivering Meals, Delivering Hope through the help of a small army of volunteers and dedicated supporters. Their 20th annual Pie in the Sky fundraiser brought in over $500,000 through the selling of 16,000 pies donated by more than 150 chefs, bakers, and caterers in the Boston area.
The CEO of Community Servings, David Waters recently co-wrote an article in the Huffington Post entitled Food Is Medicine. In that article Waters and co-author Karen Pearl of a similar nutrition nonprofit in New York City advocated the need for states to include food and nutrition services as part of the Essential Health Benefits package which goes into effect in 2014 through the federal Affordable Care Act. Both of their organizations were initially established during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s in an effort to provide better dietary care for AIDS victims. Prior to effective medicines to control AIDS good nutritious food was one of the few ways to slow the progression of the disease. Even today with effective medications an estimated 89% of HIV/AIDS patients in the NYC area have food insecurity which has an adverse effect on their overall health outcomes. Waters and Pearl maintain that poor diet and malnutrition is a significant contributor to repeated readmissions to hospitals for many people who have a variety of medical conditions.
While many larger metropolitan areas are developing nutrition programs similar to Community Servings, there are increasing numbers of programs in smaller areas that exist as well. In Rutherford County, North Carolina, a rural area of small communities, 75 volunteers deliver some 360 meals five days a week to persons aged 60 or over through the local Meals on Wheels Program. For many of these homebound people this meal is the mainstay of their diet. There are also four locations in the County that serve nutritious meals at lunch to those 60 or over who are able to come out to a community center. Program spokesperson Diane Allen says that most counties in North Carolina have similar programs which are funded by a combination of federal, state, and local agencies as well as private contributions.
Increasingly more hospitals and large medical practices are making the services of a dietitian available to their patients so that they can learn to prepare a better variety of foods appropriate for their condition. Many facilities are organizing nutritional classes that include trips to local supermarkets to empower participants to make better nutritional choices as they shop for food. Insurance companies are also adding nutritionists to their nurse programs for their clients with chronic or major conditions.
As we enjoy the last weeks of 2012, and prepare to make resolutions for a healthier and happier New Year, it is perhaps appropriate that we consider paying more attention to our overall eating habits and to take advantage of the availibility of dieticians and nutritionists that we have access to.
As a Powerful Patient that is one of the things that we have a lot of control over.
Check out our conversation with Susanne
Warmest Wishes – Mike
