nutrition

Katie Day 8-Mobile Meal Plan

Today I toured the other half of the Interfaith Food Shuttle building: Meals on Wheels. Cary Academy has also partnered with this organization, which delivers hot, nutritious meals to seniors who cannot safely create meals for themselves. My mentor Ms. Karkare delivers food on a route every Friday, so she was happy to give me a tour of the building. The food is prepared every weekday in a big, industrial-sized kitchen not unlike Cary Academy’s. Then, volunteers pick up the meals to be delivered on a route. The whole operation takes over 2,000 volunteers to run every month! mow

Inside the Meals on Wheels kitchen

Katie Day 6-Peachy

Today I helped run the Interfaith Food Shuttle stand at the Wakemed Farmer’s Market again. There were even more vendors than last week! I recognized some familiar faces, and also met some new local businesses. My favorite stand was the peach/peach ice cream stand right beside us, which smelled delicious all day! It was also great to meet some of the same EBT customers I had seen last week. On woman with three children remarked how she had been  waiting all year for the Wakemed Farmer’s Market to open back up for the season. It’s wonderful to see the direct impact of bringing fresh produce to a food desert.

Peach stand customers

Panoramic view of the market

Katie Day 4-Farm Fresh

Today I got a tour of the Interfaith Food Shuttle farm. I remember volunteering here before with my advisory for service days. Today, however, I got a better look into the different ways the farm helps the community. Parts of the farm are dedicated to different farmers and farming communities. For example, one section is designated for the use of immigrants who are unfamiliar with our food system. Also, I got to see the IFFS farm stand just across the road, where fresh produce harvested from the farm is sold.

Farm stand
Produce that was being washed during my visit

Katie Day 3-Hall of Famers

Today I had lunch with Ms. Brown, Ms. Karkare and a few other friendly faces from the Interfaith Food Shuttle hub. Above, I am standing with the two women I am working with, and below Ms. Karkare is showing off her Cooking Matters gear. She was inducted into the “Cooking Matters Hall of Fame” for her great work volunteering with the program. This afternoon, I visited the Poe Health Education Center and spoke with the dietitian and dietetic interns that work there about the field and their jobs.

Katie Day 2-We Look Radishing

First, I would just like to point out that our shirts say “beet hunger” on them, and I think that’s wonderful. This morning, I helped work Interfaith Food Shuttle’s educational booth at the Wakemed Raleigh farmer’s market with three NC State interns above. I showed our visitors the poster to the left of us, which matches bags full of sugar to sodas that contain that amount. After shocking them with the visualization, we offered samples of a much healthier option (in the pitcher next to me), a concoction of pure orange juice and seltzer water. This farmer’s market is held at Wakemed Raleigh, which is a food desert, every Tuesday over the summer, and helps facilitate access to fresh healthy food for people of all income levels. Interfaith matches the amount of money spent from EBT cards (food stamps), so those purchasing with SNAP benefits can afford fresh local foods. Tonight, I will attend one of Interfaith’s Cooking Matters classes for Hispanic families.

Katie Day 1-I’m Official

Today was a crazy busy day! First I met with Ms. Karkare, a nutrition consultant and registered dietitian. Later, I had a tour of the Interfaith Food Shuttle building and an overview of what they do there. I met the team of interns, and even experienced a webinar of how the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans will impact Cooking Matters (one of Interfaith Food Shuttle’s programs).  Plus, I got this pretty sweet official-looking nametag above. Then, I interviewed the outpatient dietitian at Wakemed Cary, Ms. Kharod. Each interaction I had today gave me a different example of all the ways nutrition experts impact the world. Ms. Karkare works with her clients in a one-on-one setting, while Interfaith takes more of a community-centered focus around improving the diets of impoverished Americans in the Triangle. Ms. Kharod’s work is similar to Ms. Karkare’s, but in a more clinical setting. I look forward to experiencing and exploring many different aspects of this diverse field of study!