Category Archives: Food & nutrition

Today’s Election Day | Vote today, tomorrow’s too late!

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yourvotecounts

Today is election day – be sure to vote!

Berks County polling places

Lancaster County polling places

Lebanon County polling places

 

Posted in: Food & nutrition

How Farmers Markets Help End Hunger in PA

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farmers markets

Farmers markets are bringing more fresh, local produce to the doorsteps of low-income neighborhoods by giving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients the power to purchase nutritious food with their EBT cards.

In 2017, 7,377 farmers and farmers markets accepted SNAP benefits across the United States, providing low-income consumers with access to fresh, healthy foods, while helping local farmers. Find a participating farmers market near you.

From June through November, the WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Programs provide low-income seniors and eligible participants in the WIC program with vouchers to purchase Pennsylvania-grown fruits, vegetables, and fresh-cut herbs from approved farm markets and farm stands across the commonwealth.

Read these related articles:

SOURCE: news release

Posted in: Food & nutrition, Health

Confused about when to call 2-1-1 and 9-1-1?

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Berks County Commissioner Kevin S. Barnhardt recently “unveiled a magnet that will be made available to county residents in an effort to make them aware of when it’s appropriate to call 911 and when they should dial 211.”

2-1-1Click on the graphic above to watch a five minute video that will explain what 2-1-1 is and how it differs from 9-1-1.

Read these articles, too, for more information.

Posted in: 2-1-1, Aging, Disabilitiies, Food & nutrition, Housing, Volunteering

“7 Facts about Older Adults and SNAP” – National Council on Aging

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snapby Erin Kee McGovern

“The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest domestic hunger safety net program. SNAP is especially important in helping low-income older adults to achieve food security. But many myths abound–here we set the record straight with seven facts about seniors and SNAP.

1. Older adults’ participation in SNAP is staggeringly low.

Click here to read all the 7 Facts and more.

Posted in: Aging, Food & nutrition

“For those who receive — and deliver — Meals on Wheels, more than nutrition is on the menu” – The Boston Globe

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meals on wheelsJessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff – Vito LaMura makes a Meals on Wheels delivery to Sally Neale in Lexington.

LEXINGTON — It’s a Tuesday ritual that Vito LaMura holds dear.

“On that day, the 71-year-old retired teacher drives from his Bedford home to Lexington Community Center, where he picks up more than a dozen Meals on Wheels packages. LaMura carefully lays out the bagged containers in his Mazda hatchback. Then he’s off on an 8-mile route — delivering food to housebound seniors who get by on Social Security, daily routines, and memories.

“The modest meals are crucial for those who receive them. So is the emotional nourishment. The state and federally funded Meals on Wheels program provides a daily visit for about 75,000 people over age 60 in Massachusetts. Many are hungry, isolated, and living in or near poverty. It’s a human connection to an outside world that can recede from view in later years. Many Meals on Wheels volunteers are retirees like LaMura. Some aren’t that much younger than the folks they visit. But most of them are focused on navigating their routes rather than peering into what could be their future. As he makes his rounds, it’s clear the program benefits LaMura as much as it does the recipients, whom he calls ‘my people.’ Their conversations come easily.”

Click here to continue reading this Boston Globe article.

BERKS COUNTY MEALS ON WHEELS INFORMATION

LANCASTER COUNTY MEALS ON WHEELS INFORMATION

LEBANON COUNTY MEALS ON WHEELS INFORMATION

 

 

Posted in: Aging, Food & nutrition, Health

“Older Americans Are ‘Hooked’ on Vitamins” – The New York Times

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vitaminsTony Cenicola/The New York Times

by LIZ SZABO, KAISER HEALTH NEWS

“When she was a young physician, Dr. Martha Gulati noticed that many of her mentors were prescribing vitamin E and folic acid to patients. Preliminary studies in the early 1990s had linked both supplements to a lower risk of heart disease.

“She urged her father to pop the pills as well: ‘Dad, you should be on these vitamins, because every cardiologist is taking them or putting their patients on [them],’ recalled Dr. Gulati, now chief of cardiology for the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.

“But just a few years later, she found herself reversing course, after rigorous clinical trials found neither vitamin E nor folic acid supplements did anything to protect the heart.”

Read this article at The New York Times, click here.

Posted in: Food & nutrition, Health

Friday Wrap-Up, March 9, 2018 | a message from the Secretary of Aging

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friday wrap-up 03-11-16

Each week the Office of the Secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Aging releases a Friday newsletter with information relevant to activities, issues and events for older Pennsylvanians and persons with disabilities across the Commonwealth. Click here download the newsletter as a .pdf file.

Posted in: Aging, End-of-life issues, Events & Actvities, Food & nutrition, Uncategorized

New Brief and Interactive Map Examine Poverty Among Seniors in the U.S. – Kaiser Family Foundation

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A new Kaiser Family Foundation brief and interactive map provide the latest national and state-level estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau of the share of people ages 65 and older who are living in poverty. In 2016, 9.3 percent of seniors, or 4.6 million people, lived in poverty, based on the official poverty threshold of $11,511 in income for an individual age 65 or older. That year 30.4 percent, or 15 million seniors, had income under twice the poverty threshold. Under an alternative measure of poverty, known as the Supplemental Poverty Measure, the analysis shows a larger share and number of seniors living below poverty thresholds. That measure, developed in response to concerns that the official measure does not accurately reflect people’s financial resources or liabilities, takes into account out-of-pocket health care costs, regional variation in housing costs and other factors.

Under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, 14.5 percent of people ages 65 and older, or 7.1 million, were living in poverty in 2016—2.5 million more seniors in poverty than under the official measure. And under this measure, 42.4 percent, or 20.9 million people, had incomes below twice the poverty level—5.9 million more seniors than under the official poverty measure.

9166-figure-1

SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation

Posted in: Aging, Food & nutrition, Money

“Go Further with Food” | March is National Nutrition Month

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national nutrition month

 

National Nutrition Month® is a nutrition education and information campaign created annually in March by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

“Go Further with Food” is the theme for 2018, and its importance is appropriate for many reasons. The foods you choose throughout your day do make a difference for you and your family. Preparing foods to go further at home and within the community can have a positive impact, as well. As nutrition experts, Academy members (dietitians) can help people adopt healthier eating styles, while reducing food loss and waste. 

The Key Messages of 2018 include:

  1. Include a variety of healthful foods from all of the food groups on a regular basis.
  2. Consider the foods you have on hand before buying more at the store.
  3. Buy only the amount that can be eaten or frozen within a few days and plan ways to use leftovers later in the week.
  4. Be mindful of portion sizes. Eat and drink the amount that’s right for you, as MyPlate encourages us to do.
  5. Continue to use good food safety practices.
  6. Find activities that you enjoy and be physically active most days of the week.
  7. Realize the benefits of healthy eating by consulting with a registered dietitian nutritionist. RDNs can provide sound, easy-to-follow personalized nutrition advice to meet your lifestyle, preferences and health-related needs.

Throughout March, Purfoods Registered Dietitians @ Mom’s Meals NourishCare will provide daily nutrition and health tips that will encourage you to “Go Further with Food”.  Stay tuned for activities that will increase your food and nutrition knowledge, offer opportunities to stretch your food dollar and maybe provide some tasty samples and recipes from the Chefs in R&D.  Let’s Go Further with Food!

SOURCE: submitted

Posted in: Food & nutrition

“New Diet Slows the Brain’s Aging” – Senior Planet

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MIND-diet-blueberries1

“What you eat may do more than reduce your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease. New research suggests that your diet could also slow your brain’s aging and keep you sharper as you get older.

“The idea that what you eat can influence cognitive health isn’t new – brain experts have been touting the brain benefits of the same diet that’s recommended for the heart for a while – but the newly designed MIND diet may work even better.

“Developed at Rush University Medical Center by Martha Clare Morris, PhD, an epidemiologist there, the MIND diet combines the best of the Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets. Both of these have long been recommended to slash the risks of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke, and the research suggests that the new hybrid may go a long way guard brain health, as well.

“Study participants who closely followed the MIND diet – all residents of retirement communities and senior public housing units in the Chicago area – showed much less mental decline over the years than those who didn’t.”

“What’s the MIND diet?”

Continue reading this article at Senior Planet, click here.

 

Posted in: Food & nutrition