Healthy Harvest

The staff at Hope House Health & Living Center are responsible for planning for, cooking, and serving 180 meals per day for 60 of its guests. On the surface that alone seems overwhelming but when you consider the preparation that goes into that kind of service, it’s easy to see that it takes collaboration from both staff and guests. For those involved, it’s a labor of love that extends past just serving nourishment each and every day. Those responsible see it as serving hope.

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, one of the day’s favorite desserts is Pumpkin Pie. However, Healthy Harvest’s kitchen wants to help you enjoy that holiday favorite whenever you want.

It isn’t always easy encouraging kids to make healthy choices. Our school-based health center provider Lisa Bergmark, PA-C, makes it fun—asking her young patients to imagine where their food comes from. Hint: if it’s from a farm, that’s a green light to a delicious AND healthy choice.

PCHC is excited to host a Facebook Live Community Conversation, centered around the topic of food insecurity in the State of Maine. We will be joined by Patricia Dushuttle, MA, Specialist for the SNAP program in the Maine Office of Family Independence; Dawn DiFiore, community partnerships director at Good Shepherd Food Bank, and Meghan Mamula, DO, Medical Director for Brewer Medical Center. Our panel will weigh in on the many nuances and facets of hunger and food insecurity—and how healthcare providers can make a difference.

Snickers, Kit Kat, Reese’s Cups, and Milky Way bars – just reading the names of these Halloween favorites is enough to send you into a sugar-high. However, with all the emphasis on sugary treats during the holidays, we asked our talented dietician, Mellisa Bernardini, MS, RD, LD about how to navigate this time of year balancing the importance of good nutrition but keeping the excitement and fun that comes with it.

Make sure to check out PCHC.com/HealthyHarvest for more resources, recipes, and content designed to help keep you healthy and happy this fall!

For some Maine kids who don’t get enough to eat at home, meals at school are critically important.

PCHC salutes this Orono food-service hero, who’s keeping the cafeteria lines open (and his focus on scratch cooking and healthy eating is pretty cool too!).

FULL STORY

It’s Friday. Halloween is just over a week away, so it’s a perfect time to step back into our Healthy Harvest kitchen and get you ready for a delicious and nutritious Saturday morning breakfast. One of our amazing nutritionists, Mellisa Bernardini, MS, RD, LD, recommends this Pumpkin Pancake recipe.

A great way to start the weekend.

With school back in session, it’s more important than ever to make sure your little one hits the classroom ready to master those fractions and conquer the periodic table.

However according to “The Locker Project,” 1-in-5 Maine children regularly experience food insecurity, with Maine’s child hunger rate the highest in New England and one of the highest in the nation.

Our friends at Hannaford Supermarkets tackle the importance of good nutrition in their latest webinar series. Make sure to sign up for today’s seminar at 3 p.m. below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/…/nutrition-for-kids-tickets…

Step on into the Healthy Harvest kitchen and try out this recipe for healthy snacking, brought to us by our nutritionist, Melissa Bernardini, MS, RD, LD. Nothing goes better as a side than crispy, dippable tater tots However these tasty morsels aren’t only delicious, they’re good for you.

Make sure to try this recipe and share the photos of your finished product and let us know how they are.

Over the next two months, every Monday we will share resources on how to take your nutrition game to the next level. Our friends at Hannaford are hosting a heart-healthy webinar in order to help you pack your cart to help your heart!

Sign up for tonight’s webinar here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/heart-healthy-eating-tickets-114187907104?aff=ebdsoporgprofile  

Can’t make it tonight? Don’t worry about it, there are more dates in the future. Thank you to Hannaford for providing this important information!

Over the next month you may notice that every Friday, PCHC employees will be wearing orange at our services and practices. Our organization will wear this popular fall color in order to try to draw awareness to food insecurity in our communities.

How does it affect the communities PCHC serves?

• Penobscot County has an estimated 21,000 people who are food insecure, close to 14 percent of its population.

• Waldo County despite having a smaller population base, has roughly 13 percent of its community members suffering from food insecurity.
  
• Somerset County has the highest percentage of those affected by food insecurity in the state, with an estimated 8,600 residents,  or 17 percent of its population,qualifying as food insecure.
  
  * Data according to FeedingAmerica.com