One of the reasons we are so excited at WCFR is our vision for having a healthier impact on our community - especially the community of low-income women and children.  Having a balanced diet is such a challenge on a small food budget - potatoes, pasta and ramen go a long way for a little bit of money, but when that's all you can afford, it's not a very balanced diet.  Fruits and vegetables are already expensive, but have increased 23% in the last 3 months!

In our grant applications last year, we made our case to a couple of funders that our meal program needs to purchase healthier food, in order to provide a more balanced diet to our guests.  The Empire Health Foundation has provided funding so that we can purchase fresh food and lean proteins.  This past Tuesday for instance, we served Tilapia.  Our guests loved it!  Many asked for seconds.  Tilapia is low in sodium and is a good source of protein and vitamin B-12.  A single serving of Tilapia is 27 calories, 84% of which is protein!

Compare that to a serving of ramen soup - which many of our ladies eat on a regular basis.  A single serving of ramen soup is 190 calories, 8% of which is protein.  And ramen soup has 20% of the recommended daily value of sodium.
So it is with a lot of pride and gratefulness that we can serve this healthy dinner. 

Other foundations or companies that have supported our nutritious direction include Burlington Northern Sante Fe (to purchase fresh food for our Friday Fresh Market), the David & Dorothy Pierce Trust (for a salad bar and some of the ingredients to go with it), Principal Financial and Albertsons (to purchase healthy food) and Catholic Charities Rice Bowl (to purchase milk.) 

Along with providing healthier food, we are also creating opportunities for our guests to learn how they can eat healthier at home.  Aleysa Oleynik, Registered Dietitian (and WCFR volunteer) has been providing a "nutrition kiosk" at our Guest Chef dinners, to help our families understand the elements of healthy eating.  She provides recipes, tasting sampler and fun visuals so even kids can learn about nutrition.

Another one of our nutrition partners is Craig Hunt, a Nutritionist and Registered Dietitian  from Parkside Physical Therapy and Nutrition.  Craig is teaching a 6-part nutrition class to some of our ladies.  Each meal is covered in a separate class and we will also cover snacking and emotional eating.  The class covers a lot of the nutrition basics and we are providing printed materials, recipes and ingredients to each of the participants.  Now the ladies will have the knowledge and some of the resources to create a healthier diet.