Hunger Awareness - Cottage Grove Sentinel
November 25, 2015
3D
Nutrition Education Help us serve vets
Coutrsey of Food for Lane County
FOOD for Lane County’s Nutrition Education Program provides
nutrition education, basic cooking skills and tips on how to stretch
limited food budgets to income-eligible audiences throughout
Lane County. We currently have two education programs: Cooking
Matters and Cooking Matters at the Store.
Cooking Matters
Cooking Matters is a cooking-based nutrition education program.
•
Learn how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a limited
budget
•
Practice fundamental lessons including knife skills, read-
ing ingredient labels and cutting up a whole chicken.
•
Learn how to make a healthy meal for a family of four on
a $10 budget
At the end of each lesson, participants take home ingredients to
practice preparing the recipe taught that day. Classes are taught by
volunteers and administered by FOOD for Lane County in partner-
ship with Oregon Food Bank and with the support of Share Our
Strength.
Cooking Matters at the Store
Cooking Matters at the Store meets adults at the grocery store for
a learning experience that teachesparticipants how to make posi-
tive changes to their food shopping habits.
Topics include:
•
Reading and understanding nutrition fact labels and unit
pricing
•
Choosing healthy food from every section of the grocery
store
•
Other ways to stretch a food budget without minimizing
quality
If you are interested in scheduling classes or volunteering for the
Nutrition Education Program, contact FFLC Nutrition Education
Program Coordinator Dana Baxter or call (541) 343-2822 Ext.
356.
by Katie
Coutrsey of Food for Lane County
Rob is a gentle guy, with a big heart and
an easy smile. In 2003, his Army National
Guard infantry unit got the call to go to
war. Rob spent 14 months in Kuwait and
Iraq. When he got back to the states, he
was changed — angry, volatile and injured.
His wife saw the change in his personal-
ity and urged him to seek treatment. He
received counseling for PTSD and medical
attention for a traumatic brain injury at the
Roseburg VA.
Rob is grateful for the help he received, but
a disability rating left him feeling useless.
“I kind of shut myself away. I didn’t feel
like I mattered to society anymore.”
That turned around two years ago when
Rob began volunteering at Daily Bread
in Springfi eld, one of 31 emergency food
pantries in the FOOD for Lane County
network.
“I just kind of fell in love with it. Being at
the pantry I felt like I could be around peo-
ple and function properly. Big word there
— function. It boosted my self esteem.”
“Many of the people we serve have some
form of disability. I see other vets there. I
can relate to them. I see that I’m not alone.
It’s all worth it when that one person comes
through who’s really hurting and they give
you a hug saying ‘you helped me so much.’
The look of relief and hope I see on
people’s faces when they get to feed their
families for at least another week — some-
times it brings me to tears. It’s a wonderful
thing, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Rob’s family is on a fi xed income, so they
get a food box.
Did you know that more people in Lane
County are working but still need help? We
surveyed pantry users and found that
•
44% of households report some
kind of income
•
80% say they are able to meet
their monthly food needs with the help of a
pantry
•
39% of households have watered
down food or drink to make them last lon-
ger
•
82% say they did not have enough
money to buy food in the past 12 months
Remember our veterans this November, es-
pecially those facing hunger and hardship.
delivered with respect and compassion.
The entire food banking system is built
on partnerships and collaboration. While
FOOD for Lane County administers many
of its own programs, we rely on our net-
work of approved partner agencies to dis-
tribute the majority of the food we collect.
All FFLC Partner Agencies are their own,
independent, non-profi t or religious organi-
zation. Most are staffed by volunteers and
are great places to work and volunteer in
direct service.
FOOD for Lane County’s hunger relief
efforts are focused on providing food as-
sistance and increasing self-suffi ciency for
our neighbors living on limited resources.
Our mission of alleviating hunger by
creating access to food is accomplished
with tremendous support from our com-
munity and through a variety of innovative
programs. We continually work to develop
programs and services that respond to the
unique needs of special populations, and
we work to ensure that these services are
Programs for Seniors
Coutrsey of Food for Lane County
Meals on Wheel s
FOOD for Lane County’s senior nutrition pro-
grams (Senior Grocery and Meals on Wheels)
are designed to meet the nutritional needs of
adults 60 and older.
Senior Grocery
The Senior Grocery Program provides low-in-
come seniors with a once monthly food box (or
bag) fi lled with nutritious staple foods necessary
to a balanced diet.
Am I eligible?
• To qualify for Senior Grocery you must be 60
years of age or older and at or below 130% of the
federal poverty level. Please see the chart below
• If you are over the income limit, you can still
qualify by being enrolled in SNAP or Medicaid.
• You will be asked to fi ll out an application and
provide supporting documentation.
The food for Senior Grocery comes to us through
a federal program known as the Commodity
Supplemental Food Program as well as grants
from the Grainger Foundation and the Chambers
Family Foundation.
Contact our Senior Grocery Program Coordina-
tor, Carly Petersen at (541) 343-2822 ext. 315.
Meals on Wheels is more than just a meal!
Friendly volunteers deliver a nourishing, freshly
prepared noontime meal that is nutritionally
balanced to provide one-third of a senior’s
recommended daily nutrients. Volunteers have
time for a brief chat and a safety check.Seniors
who live alone feel more secure knowing that
someone is checking on them regularly. Frozen
meals are available for days we do not deliver or
if requested.
Where is Meals on Wheels available? Meals on
Wheels is available in all parts of Lane County
and will be delivered by either Senior & Dis-
abled Services or FOOD for Lane County,
depending on where you live.
Am I eligible?
• Meals on Wheels is available to people over the
age of 60 and their spouses who cannot get out
much due to illness or advanced age and who are
not eating properly, regardless of their income.
• Each caller will be interviewed as soon as pos-
sible to determine eligibility and an appointment
will be made for a home visit. Subsidized meals
are available as funding permits.
Persons under age 60 may be eligible under the
following circumstances:
• Resident in a
housing facility
where a meal is
served (River-
view Terrace in
Cottage Grove,
Cresview Villa in
Creswell, Olive
Plaza and Jacobs
Lane in Eugene)
• Disabled depen-
dent child living
in a non-institu-
tional household
with a person
over age 60
• Their Case
Manager has au-
thorized meals as part of their Medicaid in-home
care service
• They are willing to pay the full cost of the meal
($8 each).
Cost
• Meals are available to eligible people on a do-
nation basis. There is no set charge for the meal.
• The suggested donation is $3 per meal, but
every eligible person is served regardless of the
amount they give.
FOOD for Lane County administers the Meals
on Wheels program in the Eugene area, in part-
nership with Lane Council of Government Senior
& Disability Services.
Request Meals on Wheels in the Eugene area:
(541) 607-5065
Outside Eugene: (541) 682-3353, 800-441-4038,
or TTY (541) 682-4567
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