Each of MANNA’s menu lines are designed to provide clients with the proper nutrients needed to treat diet-related conditions – such as malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease – with modifications for diets requiring low sodium, low potassium, carbohydrate controlled, mechanically altered, and more. As four in 10 Americans manage two or more chronic conditions, MANNA has the ability to layer up to three diet modifications to best serve each client’s prescribed diet, alongside its other services such as nutritional counseling provided by registered dietitians.

“MANNA’s new vegetarian menu underscores what our organization is all about, addressing the nutritional needs of as many of our neighbors with serious disease as we can,” said MANNA CEO Sue Daugherty, R.D.N., L.D.N. “We know that 82% of our clients who enter our program in poor physical health remain stable or improve their self-rated health scores after adhering to our meals. And whether you eat meat or not, our clients deserve to have access to this evidence-based treatment.”

The year-long process to develop the new menu required each recipe, developed by Director of Foodservice Operations Mike Stellaccio and executed by MANNA’s talented team of chefs, to be evaluated using a nutrition analysis software tool to determine if the meals meet the Food Is Medicine Coalition (FIMC) standards for each menu item. This process was overseen by MANNA’s Manager of Nutrition & Client Services, Emily Sadowy, RDN, LDN. Protein sources for the vegetarian menu include lentils, tofu, tempeh, seitan and a variety of beans. This menu is also MANNA’s first “halal-friendly” option, addressing the cultural and religious preferences of some of its clients.

“Client feedback was an extremely important component in this process,” said Sadowy. “MANNA wants all of our clients to not only receive the nourishment that our medically tailored meals provide, but also to enjoy their meals. As part of our ongoing menu analysis process, we want to ensure that all individuals, no matter their dietary or cultural preferences, would be able to receive MANNA’s therapeutic meals.”