University Hospitals’ Post

**10 Tips to Help an Older Adult Eat More Vegetables** 1. Add fruits and veggies to foods they already eat. 2. Suggest a smoothie for breakfast or a snack. 3. Buy produce that’s in season. 4. Keep fruit in a visible place. 5. Spiralize veggies for a new “twist.” 6. Experiment with cooking and seasoning methods. 7. “Sneak” vegetables into recipes. 8. Keep produce-based snacks handy on the go. 9. Make soup a mealtime staple. 10. See if the older adult you care for qualifies for SNAP. Fresh produce can be expensive. If your loved one or client is having trouble affording healthy food, it’s worth finding out if they’re eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). https://lnkd.in/gWRe6KuD #SeniorCare #inhomecare #WestervilleBusiness #homehelpershomecaredelawarecolumbus https://lnkd.in/eEgDEK6

Quick Guide to Food Assistance ProgramsA Quick Guide to Food Assistance ProgramsFood insecurity, or not having access to enough food to meet one's basic needs, impacts over 17 million households in the United States. However, there are food and nutrition programs available to help. Check out our quick guide to food assistance programs below to find the resources that best suit you and your family. https://lnkd.in/gvrNzkTD election%20Issue

We were waiting anxiously in hospital with our 6 year old. He was in considerable pain, and not allowed to eat or drink while he awaited an emergency operation to have his appendix out. Grateful to be offered a bed in the children’s ward, we browsed the wall posters as we waited, that explained healthy diets in bold colours - the stuff we are all taught at school and are reminded of regularly through the media. When Small Son finally went into surgery that evening, we suddenly realised how ravenously hungry we were, and went in search of a decent meal. We don’t have any allergies or dietary needs to complicate our search - just normal human bodies that need nourishment every day! As we walked through the labyrinth of corridors, we passed vending machines that dispensed snack bars, crisps and pop. Some of them were chilled machines and also contained white bread sandwiches containing variations of mayonnaise-based fillings. A branded sign pointing to the hospital eatery assured us that coca-cola was part of a balanced diet. Both cafes had stopped serving cooked or fresh food, although crisps and snacks were still available. Eventually we came to the hospital shop where several aisles of plastic-wrapped, ultra-processed snacks were for sale. After considerable searching, we found the first vegetable of the day: a salad in the shop fridge. It was mostly lettuce and grated carrot. It looked wet, tired and unappetising, even (especially!) to people who like salad and raw vegetables. It seemed to epitomise the misery of being on a calorie-controlled diet. We were not tempted to buy it. I thought wryly of the poster in the children’s ward. In a hospital there is no shortage of awareness of what constitutes healthy food. The longer I work in food partnership, becoming increasingly aware of the diet-related health and obesity crisis that we are walking into, the more I feel strongly that it is not education the public lacks, but the availability of delicious, nourishing food (and in many cases, an adequate income to afford it). But decisions - even in hospitals! - are driven by profit-making on the back of the natural human propensity towards foods high in salt, sugar, and fat. It’s time, then, to reframe healthy food as a public good. As we move away from the old agricultural Basic Payments Scheme (where public subsidies are paid to farmers and landowners according to area of land) and we move towards the principle of public money for public goods, the opportunities are abundant. Limiting junk food advertising and availability in public places; using public food procurement to support our farmers to produce healthy, sustainable food; and increasing eligibility and auto-enrolment to Healthy Start and Free School Meal schemes are obvious places to start. What we need is not more educational posters, but to normalise good food in public life.

Title: Bridging the Gap: Addressing Food Deserts and Access to Nutritious Food for Children As a public health and child nutrition expert based in Texas for the last eight years, and a former resident of Florida and Puerto Rico, I have witnessed firsthand the profound impact that food deserts have on the health and well-being of our children. Food deserts, defined as areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, pose significant challenges to children's physical and cognitive development. This issue is particularly pressing in Texas, where many urban and rural areas face barriers to accessing fresh, healthy food. Even in the most metropolitan areas of our nation, it is possible to find spots where fresh local foods are a luxury rather than a staple. Understanding Food Deserts Food deserts are typically characterized by a lack of supermarkets or grocery stores within a convenient traveling distance. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), over 2 million Texans, including approximately 500,000 children, live in areas classified as food deserts. These communities often rely on convenience stores and fast-food outlets, which predominantly offer processed foods high in sugar, fat, and sodium. The Impact on Children's Health The consequences of living in a food desert are dire. Children in these areas are at a higher risk of obesity, malnutrition, and diet-related diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that children with limited access to nutritious foods are more likely to experience developmental delays and academic challenges (JAMA, 2019). More importantly, a report by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission highlighted that children in food deserts often consume fewer fruits and vegetables and more sugary beverages, contributing to poor health outcomes (Texas Health and Human Services, 2020). Here I share several strategies that can help mitigate food deserts in our communities. By addressing the root causes of food deserts and implementing targeted public policies, we can make significant strides in improving the health and well-being of children in America. To my School Nutrition leadership connections: How are you collaborating with your circle of influence to address these root causes and help implement targeted public policies? Thanks for sharing!

FOOD POISONING: GET TO KNOW THE FACTS AND SYMPTOMS - Protect your family from summer 'food bugs' by practicing safe food storage, cooking, and eating habits. 😊 - Food poisoning can be serious, so familiarize yourself with the facts and symptoms. 🤒 - Common causes include Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria, and certain strains of E. coli. 🦠 - Campylobacter: Often found in poultry, meat, dairy products, and shellfish. Can lead to abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, and fever. 😷 - Salmonella: Found in raw meat, undercooked poultry, eggs, and unpasteurized milk. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and stomach pains. 😖 - E. coli: Passed on through raw and undercooked meats, contaminated foods, and water. Symptoms may include bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, and vomiting. 💩 - Listeria: Less common but dangerous, especially for certain groups like pregnant women and the elderly. Associated with ready-to-eat foods like soft cheeses and smoked fish. Symptoms are flu-like. 🤢 - Symptoms usually appear within a week but can vary. Look out for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, weakness, loss of appetite, fever, aching muscles, and chills. 🤮 - Most people recover at home without specific treatment. Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated, especially for the young and elderly. 💧

Terrific session on food 🥗 and healthcare 👩⚕️ at SXSW today Astounding facts -  35M Americans with food insecurity; 40M obese Americans - this drives high utilization & cost in US system as they can't keep people healthy - med students do 4 days of medical training on food ... but actually 4 hours … yet 85% of all disease is diet related Three organizations are using their platforms to catalyze and implement large scale change across the food system in order to reconceptualize our health systems in parallel 1. The Rockefeller Foundation: runs a multi-prong food initiative - Food Prescribing by care teams - funding / partnering with #2 and #3 below - Institutional procurement - rethinking the supply chain to change the entire food system. ie, so that food purchased at the source is health promoting and better for the planet + local economies - Food Composition - emerging tools such as mass spectrometry to look at what is in mass produced food, could lead to changes in how food is grown and processed 2. American Heart Association - just launched the Healthcare by Food initiative [https://lnkd.in/g-EkG3Ps] to mobilize $250M of research funding to build hard evidence for the effectiveness of ‘food is medicine’ interventions in health care, so that they can be sustainably reimbursed [just like pills and procedures are!] - 20 different randomly controlled trials underway across diverse populations in the US to see what works, for whom, and how to design programs that deliver 3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - since the VA is both a delivery system and insurer, the payment models work well for food as medicine ie, they can allocate resources to what ever lever delivers the highest health return. Food is a big one. - established a Food Security Office a while ago - have been screening vets for food insecurity since 2017 -Produce Prescribing program - with funding from Rockefeller Foundation, any clinician can refer a vet to the program which gets them $100 'card' to buy fruit & produce each month + a nutrition coach to guide them on how to source, prepare and eat the healthier food - Executive Chefs in their hospitals and nursing homes ensuring the food served to sick patients and residents is healthy, and is curated based on the residents' culture and tastes In all food directly affects long term viability of health systems  - although food as medicine has been around a while, many pilots – it is coming to the fore, with a growing body of evidence impact cc Robin Speedie Jennifer Reynolds Jerry Koh #sxsw2024

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This #NSMW also spotlights green issues 🌎 Our recent blog for Eating Better explains how schools working with us have embraced less and better meat and why government #SchoolFood standards must focus on health and sustainability 👇 https://lnkd.in/eE6gfHi2 #HealthyZones #NSMW2023 #NationalSchoolMealsWeek #SchoolFoodMatters #Nutrition #HealthyEating #FoodPolicy #EatingBetter #Sustainability #ProcessedMeat

Highmark Health, with its affiliated companies and foundation, will commit more than $30 million through 2030 to enhance food security, nutrition education, and physical activity in the communities it serves. This is part of the White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities, announced today by the Biden-Harris Administration. Highmark Health responded to the nationwide call-to-action to advance President Biden’s goal to end hunger and reduce diet-related diseases by 2030 while also reducing health disparities. The five pillars of this new national strategy are improving food access and affordability; integrating nutrition and health; empowering all consumers to make and have access to healthier choices; supporting physical activity for all; and enhancing nutrition and food security research. In the next two years alone, in alignment with the five pillars of the national strategy, Highmark Health will: - Conduct over one million assessments across its four-state footprint with patients and members to identify and address non-medical barriers to health, including food insecurity; - More than double the number of community organizations eligible for value-based payments for addressing food insecurity and other social care gaps; - More than double the number of individuals assisted through a multi-sector food insecurity collaborative in rural Appalachia; - And expand the capacity of Allegheny Health Network's Healthy Food Centers to be able to serve more than 20,000 new patients and their families over the next two years, providing them with free, nutritious foods and nutrition counseling.

Baby food recalled over Listeria concerns By News Desk on June 3, 2024 Once Upon a Farm PBC of Berkeley, CA, is recalling Once Upon a Farm Organic Plant-Rich Meal, Curried Carrots & Beans because of potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. According to details published online by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the recall was initiated May 17, 2024, and is ongoing. The recalled products were distributed in Tennessee, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, New Jersey and Texas. Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled but can still cause serious and sometimes life-threatening infections. Anyone who has eaten any recalled products and developed symptoms of Listeria infection should seek medical treatment and tell their doctors about the possible Listeria exposure. Also, anyone who has eaten any of the recalled products should monitor themselves for symptoms during the coming weeks because it can take up to 70 days after exposure to Listeria for symptoms of listeriosis to develop.  Symptoms of Listeria infection can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache, and neck stiffness. Specific laboratory tests are required to diagnose Listeria infections, which can mimic other illnesses.  Pregnant women, the elderly, young children, and people such as cancer patients who have weakened immune systems are particularly at risk of serious illnesses, life-threatening infections, other complications and death. Although infected pregnant women may experience only mild, flu-like symptoms, their infections can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn, or even stillbirth. Recalled products: Once Upon a Farm Organic Plant-Rich Meal, Curried Carrots & Beans, 3.5 oz,