Author: Alissa Vandenbark

On Thursday, September 26th the Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance (MANNA) will host our annual premier culinary fundraiser, Main Course, at Cescaphe’s newest venue, The Switch House. In partnership with MANNA, Chef Chairs Amanda Shulman of Her Place Supper Club – named Food & Wine’s 2023 Best New Chef — and Alex Kemp of My Loup –2024 James Beard Award Seminfinalist for Best New Restaurant — will bring together Philadelphia’s finest culinary talent, including several James Beard Award winners and semifinalists. This one-night-only event will provide guests with a top-tier offering of Philadelphia’s finest cuisine, all while benefiting MANNA’s work to provide medically tailored meals to those suffering from critical illnesses throughout Greater Philadelphia. The evening will feature a live auction, luxury raffle and a live performance from Philadelphia’s Most Legendary Drag Queen, Martha Graham Cracker.

“We’re so honored to co-chair MANNA’s 2024 Main Course event,” said Chef Chairs Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp. “Last year’s Main Course chef chairs, Chefs Omar Tate and Cybill St. Aude-Tate of Honeysuckle Provisions left huge shoes for us to fill. We’re beyond grateful to the incredible chefs who are contributing their time and energy to this year’s lineup.” Chefs from a dozen different restaurants will prepare and showcase unique dishes throughout the evening for guests to enjoy. Several of Philadelphia’s top chefs will be participating in this year’s Main Course, along with Chef Chairs Amanda Shulman (Her Place Supper Club) & Alex Kemp (My Loup), including Joey Baldino (Zeppoli), Melissa McGrath (Sweet Amalia), Marc Vetri and Matt Rodrigue (Fiorella), Jesse Ito (Royal Izakaya), Carlos Aparicio (El Chingon), Ian Graye (Pietramala), Dan Tsao (Emei), Randy Rucker (River Twice), Andrew DiTomo (Meetinghouse), Justine MacNeil (Fiore Fine Foods), Daniel Griffiths, Sam Kalkut and Jake Loeffler (Paffuto), as well as the MANNA and Cescaphe chefs.

“We’re so grateful to be partnering with renowned chefs and entertainers for an amazing evening that will benefit our mission of delivering nutritious meals and counseling to individuals battling critical illnesses,” said Sue Daugherty, MANNA’s CEO. “MANNA is very fortunate to have the incredible Philadelphia chef community, this year led by Chef Chairs Amanda and Alex, to help us shine a light on the power of food as medicine and bring further awareness to the importance of providing nutritious, medically tailored meals and counseling to our neighbors in need. We are also thrilled to welcome back Martha Graham Cracker — a champion of MANNA’s since our early days — for another showstopping performance.”

Main Course 2024 is co-chaired by MANNA Board member Jimmy Contreras and radio producer Marisa Magnatta. Sponsorship and table packages are available now at mannapa.org/maincourse24 or by emailing Kate Milicia (kmilicia@mannapa.org). Limited ticket sales will open on August 1.

Main Course 2024 is presented by Andréa W. & Kenneth C. Frazier Family Foundation. Main Course sponsors (as of 6/18) include: Cescaphe Black, John Alchin and Hal Marryatt, Hamilton Lane, JPMorgan Chase, ChatterBlast, 20/20 Visual Media, Allan Schimmel, Bank of America, Independence Blue Cross, The Haverford Trust Company, Camden Apothecary, Martin and Monica Lupinetti, and McLaughlin Private Wealth.

On September 18-22, 2023, MANNA will take part in Malnutrition Awareness Week^TM, an international effort to increase the awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of malnutrition in patients. Malnutrition Awareness Week^TM is an annual, multi-organizational campaign created by the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) to focus on nutrition as a patient right and nutrition’s vital role in health and recovery.

In the U.S., malnutrition – the condition that occurs when individuals do not receive enough calories, protein, or vitamins and minerals for optimal body function and overall health – affects millions of people and is especially common among people with medical conditions. Malnutrition affects an estimated 20 to 50% of hospitalized patients, and can contribute to longer hospital stays, increased weakness and frailty, and higher hospital readmission rates.

MANNA’s medical nutrition program helps to treat and prevent malnutrition for many critically ill clients each year. Indeed, preliminary findings from the MANNA Institute showed an average 34% reduction in the proportion of clients who screened at-risk for malnutrition at intake versus follow-up across all disease states that we served in 2020. A partnership with researchers and dietitians at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania is currently building on these findings by measuring MANNA’s impact on recently discharged heart failure patients who were experiencing malnutrition while hospitalized.

In addition to tailored nutrition, malnutrition treatment requires professional guidance from healthcare providers such as Registered Dietitian-Nutritionists (RDNs), accredited and nationally board-certified food and nutrition experts. MANNA is committed to advancing the dietetics field by sharing vital information about detecting and treating malnutrition. This September, I wanted to share more information about the ways MANNA both directly addresses malnutrition and raises awareness about this serious issue.

Addressing malnutrition at MANNA

MANNA serves over 100 critically ill clients annually with diagnosed malnutrition, but many more are at serious risk. For these clients, appropriate nutrition and professional guidance are critical to mitigate potentially devastating consequences.

“Malnutrition is something to handle on a case-by-case basis, especially because it can affect people in different ways,” says MANNA dietitian Mallory Drake, MPH, RDN, LDN, CHES. “Among our population, we see a lot of weight changes and occasionally noted micronutrient deficiencies.” Malnutrition can affect clients who struggle with weight gain or obesity as well as weight loss.   

“Our biggest interventions would be offering our high-protein menu modification to provide additional calories and protein when it is needed,” Mallory says. As with all MANNA diet modifications, our high-protein menu can be combined with up to two additional diet modifications to suit our clients’ unique needs. MANNA’s high-protein modification can help address malnutrition and prevent unintentional weight loss, sarcopenia, decreased muscle mass and function, increased infections, and poor wound healing by providing additional protein in a client’s diet.

In addition to this diet modification, MANNA’s RDNs can provide nutrition counseling to discuss small steps a client and their support system can take to improve overall nutrition status.

“Through counseling, we are able to talk through barriers to regular eating and food access beyond the short-term period of receiving MANNA deliveries,” Mallory says. The best ways to prevent malnutrition and its complications are to ensure consumption of adequate calories and protein on a consistent basis, through meals, snacks, supplements, and/or calorically dense foods. “If a client is open to it, we can discuss their meal timing and when they may be able to work in extra nutrition to meet their increased needs.”

MANNA’s RDNs take a trauma-informed approach to nutrition counseling, helping ensure that a client’s lived experiences are accounted for as a holistic component of their healing. For many clients, speaking with a MANNA RDN is their first experience talking in-depth with a healthcare provider about the importance of nutrition in managing their health. Together with MANNA’s fortifying, medically tailored meals, our RDNs help reduce the impacts of malnutrition among our critically ill clients.

Malnutrition and children

MANNA serves a small but growing number of pediatric clients. In our fiscal year 2023, we served nearly 200 children with diabetes, obesity, and other serious health conditions. Approximately 6% of the children MANNA served were diagnosed with malnutrition.

Preventing malnutrition among children is especially critical. Children with malnutrition are more susceptible to infections, which increases the risk for mortality. A July 2023 study featured stark data about the devastating prevalence of childhood malnutrition: 

• Researchers studied more than 4,000 children over eight years who were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). About one of every five PICU-admitted patients had a malnutrition diagnosis.
• Malnourished patients had more comorbid diagnoses and used more healthcare resources (prolonged hospitalizations and higher 30-day readmission rates), leading to higher healthcare costs. Indeed, estimated total costs were $151,401 for malnourished patients and $57,986 for patients without malnutrition—a cost difference of $93,415 per patient.

A number of risk factors can make infants and children more susceptible to malnutrition. Conditions such as gastrointestinal, heart, respiratory, and kidney defects; cerebral palsy; cystic fibrosis; short bowel syndrome; solid tumor cancers; and third-degree burns all put infants and children at high risk. Socioeconomic and systemic factors such as food insecurity can compound this risk by inhibiting access to nutrient-dense foods. Programs such as MANNA’s play a vital role in addressing pediatric malnutrition by providing high-calorie, protein-rich meals that are delicious and ready to eat. MANNA’s RDNs can help counsel families affected by pediatric malnutrition to ensure healing and recovery.

MANNA’s Commemoration of Malnutrition Awareness Week^TM

To amplify the theme of this year’s Malnutrition Awareness Week^TM, “Nutrition Care is a Patient Right,” we are hosting two events in early October. The first is an RDN (Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist)/DTR (Dietetic Technician, Registered) Networking Event to be held on October 2^nd that aims to share MANNA’s dietetic expertise with the local healthcare community and engage dietitians from the Greater Philadelphia Area to help address malnutrition at their own institutions. If you or your business are interested in learning more about partnership opportunities for MANNA’s inaugural RDN/DTR Networking Event, please contact Rebecca Boova-Turner, Healthcare Partnerships Manager at rboova-turner@mannapa.org. 

The MANNA Institute, our division for research and evaluation, has been an ambassador of Malnutrition Awareness Week^TM since 2020 and will be hosting an academic seminar on October 5^th. The seminar is part of the Institute’s Academic Seminar Series, a bi-annual presentation on topics relating to in-patient and community-based nutrition care. Our speaker, Dr. Rose Ann DiMaria-Ghalili of Drexel University, will discuss malnutrition across the healthcare continuum and potential interventions. One (1) continuing education unit will be available for all RDNs who attend. Registration information for the seminar will be available soon. We can all play a part in spreading awareness about malnutrition. As an ambassador, MANNA is able to provide complimentary access to all of ASPEN’s Malnutrition Awareness Week^TM webinars. Use code MAW-MANNA to register. We hope you are able to learn more about the complex issue of malnutrition and ways to take action during this year’s Malnutrition Awareness Week^TM and beyond!

There’s no better time to celebrate breakfast than in September during National Breakfast Month! Breakfast is often a low priority meal for some people but eating breakfast has many benefits.  Eating breakfast not only helps control weight but it can also help guide us towards healthier eating throughout the day. A healthy breakfast provides your body with what it needs after a night of fasting and can help create a positive impact on your overall health.

It’s that time of year again! Kids are going back to school and it’s important to start each day off right. The American Dietetic Association states that children who eat a healthy breakfast are more likely to have better concentration, be more creative, be more active, and have less sick days from school.  A complete breakfast should be a well-balanced meal of protein, carbohydrates, and fats.  Having a well-balanced breakfast is vital to helping maintain stamina and prolonging hunger throughout the day.

Healthy Breakfast Ideas:

• Breakfast sandwich made with a whole grain English muffin, turkey bacon, egg whites and low-fat cheese.
• Oatmeal with skim milk topped with fresh fruit
• Whole wheat bread with peanut butter, small banana and a glass of low-fat milk.
• Breakfast parfait made with low-fat yogurt, fruit and low-fat granola.

 

Yogurt Parfait

 Ingredients (1 Serving)

1 (6 oz.) container low-fat yogurt, fruit flavored or vanilla, divided

1/4 c. mixed berries, fresh or frozen, thawed

1 T. granola cereal or plain, unsalted nuts

Directions

Place half the yogurt on the bottom of a glass or paper cup.

Place the mixed fruit on top of yogurt.

Add the rest of the yogurt.

Top with granola cereal or nuts

 

Happy September to you all. NRG couldn’t be prouder to be associated with and support MANNA. The work MANNA does to provide healthy, medically appropriate meals to those who need them and may otherwise go without, is lifesaving. It fills a void. MANNA was the first recipient of the NRG Gives $100,000 grant back in 2016. NRG Gives is an employee-driven program designed to help local nonprofits that reflect the values and programs important to our employees. Ultimately the public votes on who should receive the grant, but employees nominate and select all the finalists. So thank you to MANNA and all its donors and volunteers for the amazing work you do.

Each month, as part of NRG’s communications sponsorship, NRG will be providing simple energy related tips that may potentially reduce your energy usage, but may also help reduce your carbon footprint and potentially limit the stress on our grid.

With September being National Preparedness Month, we thought it best to start with some simple ways to ensure you are ready for an emergency, particularly power outages caused by storms. The tips below come from our friends and colleagues at Goal Zero, an NRG company.

BEFORE THE STORM

• Identify a safe area to take refuge and secure any outdoor items that could become airborne during the storm.
• Develop and practice your family communication plan. Identify an out-of-state contact that everyone can call if the family gets separated and designate a familiar emergency meeting location.
• Review your insurance coverage and take pictures of your home, building and/or office – inside and out.
• Gather necessary supplies: water, First Aid Kit, flashlights, tarps, plastic bags, tape, sandbags, shutters, plywood, hand tools, generator, brooms, mops, towels and batteries.
• Fully charge cell phones, laptops, portable power stations and any other electronics, and top off your vehicle’s gas tank.
• Ensure a supply of water for sanitary purposes, such as cleaning and flushing toilets. Fill the bathtub and other large containers with water.

DURING THE STORM

• Stay indoors during the storm and away from windows and glass doors.
• Take refuge in a small interior room, closet or hallway on the lowest level.
• Bring along books, tablets, or toys to keep children occupied – don’t forget to bring backup power and lights along to keep devices charged up.
• Keep curtains and blinds closed in case windows shatter from high winds or debris. Do not be fooled if there is a lull; it could be the eye of the storm – winds will pick up again.

AFTER THE STORM

• If separated from your family, use your family communications plan or contact FEMA or the American Red Cross.
• Keep away from loose or dangling power lines and report them immediately to your local utility company.
• Walk around the outside of your home and check for any structural damage. Take pictures of any damage. If you have any doubts about safety, have your home inspected by a qualified building inspector or structural engineer before entering.
• Stay out of any building if you smell gas, if floodwaters remain around the building, or if your home was damaged by fire and the authorities have not declared it safe.
• Never use a gasoline generator inside homes, garages, crawlspaces, sheds or similar areas, even when using fans or opening doors and windows for ventilation. Deadly levels of carbon monoxide can quickly build up in these areas and linger for hours, even after the generator is turned off. Consider using a gasoline-free portable power station to supply backup power to your home instead.
• If you are unable to return home and have immediate housing needs, text SHELTER + your ZIP code to 43362 (4FEMA) to find the nearest shelter in your area (example: shelter 77005).

Treat yourself to some delicious watermelon on August 3^rd, National Watermelon day! Watermelon is a tasty summer snack that will also help keep you hydrated. Watermelon is fat free and low in calories, with 2 cups of diced watermelon providing only 80 calories. Nutritionally speaking, watermelons are packed with vitamins A and C, Lycopene, Potassium, and amino acids. In Pennsylvania, watermelons are in peak season August through October, so now is the perfect time to learn some fun ways to incorporate watermelons into your day.

The many ways to enjoy a watermelon

Watermelons are delicious as is, however if you want to mix it up, they can be juiced, thrown into a smoothie, grilled, or frozen. If you are feeling crafty, they can be made into a beautiful carving before consumption. Watermelons, along with some other fruits, have a high water content (about 92%). Whether you plan on going to the beach, picnic, or to a baseball game, watermelons are the perfect snack, as they will help keep you hydrated!

Tips on choosing your perfect watermelon

Believe it or not, there are many things to look for when choosing watermelons. Did you know that there are “boy” and “girl” watermelons, each looking different, and having a different taste as well? “Boy” watermelons are longer, and have a higher water content (best for juicing). “Girl” watermelons are more round, and are sweeter. In general, when selecting watermelons, make sure you pick it up and inspect it. The heavier the watermelon, the better! Turn the watermelon over, and look for a creamy, yellow spot on the bottom, this means the melon is ripe. If it is a light green, it is not ripe enough. Give the watermelon a good squeeze to make sure it is nice and firm and contains no soft spots. Ripe, cut watermelon can be stored in a container with a lid in the refrigerator for up to one week. Unripe watermelons can be stored at room temperature for up to two weeks, or until ripe. When preparing watermelon, make sure you give the whole watermelon a thorough rinse before cutting in half. Prepare as desired, and enjoy!

 

Healthy, Hydrating Watermelon Smoothie

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 ½- 2 cups fresh watermelon, cubed

1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

½ banana fresh or frozen (frozen will add a creamier taste)

½ cup yogurt (optional)

Juice of 1 lime or lemon

*Tip-Add ice cubes, if you are using fresh fruit, instead of frozen.

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to a blender, blend until creamy and smooth.
2. Taste, and add ingredients as needed (add more banana for a sweeter option; add more watermelon for a more intense watermelon flavor, etc.)
3. Top with garnish of choice! (Fresh strawberries, chia seeds, lemon slice, etc.). Enjoy!