Food & Friends

Hogan Lovells Brings Consistency and Hard Work

Near-weekly volunteer shifts are a boon for Food & Friends staff.

Almost every Monday afternoon, a group of volunteers from the international law firm Hogan Lovells comes to the Food & Friends kitchen to pack meals for our clients. The small but mighty team sets up like an assembly line, stationing themselves in front of an array of breakfast items, lunch items, snacks and condiments. Chef Matt calls out the different meal plans, explaining which items go into which color-coded bags. He runs a tight ship, but the volunteers are ready for the task at hand and get right to work. During one recent 2-hour shift, the hardworking group packed over 600 meals!

Hogan Lovells has been volunteering with Food & Friends since 2013. In addition to their Monday shifts, they also volunteer one Wednesday evening a month and do weekly deliveries during their Thursday lunch break. Food & Friends drops off the meals at their office and staff then distribute them throughout the neighborhood. What an awesome way to spend a lunch break!

Food & Friends is incredibly grateful to the many corporate volunteer groups that pass through our doors each year. In fact, we welcome 100-120 corporate volunteer groups annually and we couldn’t do our work without them. But the regular commitment made by Hogan Lovells truly stands out.

“Volunteers are not just a nice to have, they are a necessity,” says Beth Stewart, Volunteer Services Manager. “We send 2,800 meals out the door every day, rain or shine, winter or summer, with only a small staff.”

“Our chefs and delivery drivers appreciate the consistency of a weekly or monthly commitment. It’s such a relief and inspiration to our staff to have that level of dependability from volunteers!” she adds.

Even if your company can’t commit to a regular shift, corporate volunteer groups are always needed. In particular, we need groups when schools are less available, including August/September, April/May, and around the holidays. Join us!

If you would like to bring your company to volunteer with Food & Friends, visit our Group Volunteer page or contact Chanel Moore at cmoore@foodandfriends.org.

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Diabetes Pilot Project Breaks New Ground for Food & Friends

Nonprofit, Medically-tailored meals, Food is Medicine, Washington, D.C., Donate, Food & Friends, Charity, Health, Nutrition, Diabetes

In October 2014, Food & Friends, in partnership with the GW Heart & Vascular Institute, launched a two-year pilot project providing meals for individuals in the Washington, DC region living with poorly-managed type 2 diabetes. Having now concluded the pilot, both Food & Friends and our partners at GWU are encouraged by the results.

“We chose to partner with Food & Friends because they are the most robust and dependable organization out there,” said Dr. Gurusher Panjrath, of the George Washington Medical Faculty Associates. “They understand how to bring about change through better nutrition, nutrition counseling and food security.”

While a pilot specifically focused on diabetes was a new undertaking for Food & Friends, working with clients who have the disease is not. In 2016, over 20% of Food & Friends’ clients outside of the pilot had diabetes in addition to cancer or HIV/AIDS. To help address this secondary health problem, we have served a diabetic meal plan for two decades.

Food and Friends. Washington DC Sept. 21, 2016 . © Rick Reinhard 2016 email rick@rickreinhard.com

Over the course of the two-year study, Food & Friends prepared and delivered approximately 116,000 meals to 101 clients and 75 family members and completed 330 nutrition assessments. Our Diabetic and Diabetic-Heart Healthy meal plans provide on average 1,800 calories, 80 grams of protein and less than 2,000mg of sodium per day. The meal plans exclude refined grains, starchy vegetables and significantly limit items containing sucrose.

At the study’s conclusion, the GWU team analyzed the data and saw several statistical correlations between Food & Friends’ nutrition services and the pilot clients’ health, including improved medication adherence and increased diabetes knowledge.

Most importantly, they saw a statistically significant change in their HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin) level, which gives an overall picture of a person’s average blood sugar. Lowering this number can cut the risk of kidney disease, cataracts, heart failure, amputation, peripheral vascular disease, and other ailments common among those living with poorly controlled diabetes.

Pilot participant Derek Simms at the annual Food & Friends Client BBQ

“When [Food & Friends] came to me, I was in my hospital bed. I was definitely facing amputation at that time…. [Now] I’m walking, I don’t have any machines hooked up to me, and all I can say is thank you,” said Derek Simms, a diabetes pilot participant.

It was clear however, that the benefits went beyond those particular data points. As clients started seeing results (such as improved blood glucose and weight loss) and getting positive feedback from their doctors, they became more receptive to their doctors’ recommendations. Through continued exposure to the Diabetic meal plan, they began to enjoy the new way of eating and many said they did not miss their old foods. Many clients gained a better understanding of portion size and portion control and now model their home-prepared meals after the meals Food & Friends provided—positive results after two years of hard work.

This pilot project was made possible through generous support from lead funders, the DC Department of Health Community Health Administration, The Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundation Inc., and the The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation.

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“Lettuce” Celebrate National Sandwich Month!

Nonprofit, Medically-tailored meals, Food is Medicine, Washington, D.C., Donate, Food & Friends, Charity, Health, Nutrition

What’s the Deal with the Sandwich?

The history of the sandwich dates all the way back to the year 1773 when a man named John Montagu, also known as the Earl of Sandwich introduced his idea of the sandwich to his friends. Soon thereafter, Montagu’s idea started to gain popularity in high society London and eventually crossed the pond. The first record of the sandwich in the United States is recorded as 1816. It was not until the invention of sliced bread in the 1920s though that sandwiches gained “food staple status.” Sandwiches are the ideal all-in-one meal containing carbohydrates, protein, and fat. It is easy to add fruits and vegetables to them and they are not only quick and easy to make, but can also be served hot or cold.

The All-In-One Benefits of the Sandwich

Proteins: They play important roles in the formation of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. Protein comes from both plants and animals and can be found in foods like eggs, soy, beans, peas, nuts, seeds, seafood, meat, and poultry. The amount of protein that you need per day depends on your age, sex, and physical activity level.

Carbohydrates: They give our bodies a way to get both quick and lasting energy. Grains (pasta, bread, oatmeal, rice) are a great source of carbohydrates. Whole grains especially help keep our blood sugar stable throughout the day.

Fats: The bottom line is that our body needs fat. First, fat helps regulate our body temperature. Second, it helps us absorb certain vitamins (A,D, E, K). Look for unsaturated fat sources (avocado, nuts, olive oil) and aim to avoid saturated and trans fats in your foods.

Instead of this, try that!

Tweaking a recipe to make it more nutritionally dense doesn’t have to taste bad. You can get bang for your nutritional buck and eat delicious food at the same time. Try some of these tips next time you’re making yourself a sandwich!

Instead of ground beef try ground turkey (lean protein).
Instead of fried chicken, try sprinkling bread crumbs on chicken and baking it (lean protein).
Instead of mayonnaise try these spreads: plain Greek yogurt (good protein, carbohydrates, and fats), plain Greek yogurt mixed with mustard, mashed avocado (good fats), basil pesto (good fats).

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