March is National Nutrition Month

   New Food Insecurity Index



A new Food Insecurity Index has been launched on Healthy Mendocino. The index is a measure of food access that is correlated with social and economic hardship. Improving a community’s access to food can improve other health and social outcomes, such as hospital readmissions, financial burdens for medication purchasing, and school readiness and attendance.    

You can view Food Insecurity Index by going to /FoodInsecurityIndex

Below are tips to increase your health by paying attention to what you eat and drink, a section on nutrition for kids, and ways individuals, seniors, and families with low-income can get help in buying quality food.

CalFresh

CalFresh, known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, (formerly Food Stamps) is for individuals, seniors and families with low-income who need a little help putting healthy and nutritious food on the table. It is the largest food program in California and provides an essential hunger safety net.

CalFresh benefits stretch food budgets, allowing individuals and families to afford nutritious food, including more fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods. The program issues monthly benefits on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. Food may be purchased at any grocery store or farmers market that accepts EBT cards. Visit the newly updated CalFresh page on Healthy Mendocino to read about eligibility, how to apply, information on CalFresh for California immigrants, Market Match, and a link to the Food For All Mendocino Facebook page for important updates and information on healthy eating.

Famers Market and Market Match

Famers Markets are a great place to not only find fresh local food, but you can also be supporting your local farmers and producers. Visit mcfarm.org for Mendocino County Farmers Market locations and schedules. All seven MCFARM markets accept EBT and WIC coupons.

They also offer an EBT Market Match Program that doubles the spending power of EBT/CalFresh recipients. Each market has an EBT machine and an EBT/CalFresh recipient may use their benefits by simply swiping their card, indicate how much they want to take out, and receive tokens to spend at the market. This doubles the amount of tokens a customer can spend at the market. For example, if a customer spends $30 in EBT funds, they're given an extra $30 ($60 total) in market tokens to spend on fruits and vegetables.

Eight (Realistic) Ways To Eat Healthier This Month

1. Go, go, H2O!   

We all know drinking water helps in nearly every aspect of wellness. The Rethink Your Drink Campaign informs people of the health problems from sugary drinks such as soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened waters, and coffee and tea beverages with added sugars. Choose water over sugary drinks.

2. Choose food over supplements   

Though there are some who sincerely lack certain vitamins and minerals that can’t be achieved through diet alone, most of the good things our bodies need come from food — not store-bought supplements. Research shows that certain supplements haven’t been tested to meet many purity and safety standards, making them unreliable sources of nutrition.

3. Opt for color   

When in doubt, throw some color on your plate — natural color, that is. Bright greens from crunchy vegetables or vibrant reds from tangy fruit will give you a healthy boost.

Avoiding typical restaurant or fast-food grease may seem obvious, but according to Harvard Health Publishing, even more important than that is the ability to control portion sizes when you pack your own lunch. Try something fun like a DIY Bento box!

Shopping a supermarket's outside aisles ensures that you’re getting healthy alternatives to processed foods like produce, meat, and dairy. When you move inward, most, if not all, of the products contain unnecessary additives and sugar.

6. Vary Your Diet
There are always ways to improve your current diet. You can make a positive change by including more varied foods into your everyday meals. Don’t forget to read the Nutrition Fact Panels on the foods you buy, so you can make informed decisions about what you do and don’t eat.

7. Meal Planning
Preparing meals to eat at home, school, or work is a growing trend that is definitely worth trying out. The messaging is all about planning your meals. Learning healthful recipes and buying only the ingredients you need are good first steps. And if you pre-make food, you’ll be less tempted to order out – saving money and calories.

8. Cook & Prep   
Whether you’re a wizard in the kitchen or a complete newcomer, learning how to make delicious meals will enrich your life as well as your diet. Take the time to learn some new techniques. This is something fun you can do with the whole family, or invite friends over to share and taste test, (paying attention to COVID safe practices)

Nutrition Ideas for Kids

What Makes You Strong?

If you want to be healthy and have the energy for all your favorite games and activities, then you need to eat food that is good for you and that will make you strong. How can you tell which foods will do the job? Check out this handy guide!

Does It Have Nutrients?   

Nutrients exist in many foods. We need nutrients to survive. Vitamins and minerals are both nutrients, and both are key to growing up strong and healthy. Foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy are all chock-full of nutrients. For example, milk is full of calcium and often has vitamin D as well. Both of these are nutrients, and your body needs them to make your bones strong.

Does It Have Fiber? 

Fiber is in fruits and vegetables, as well as many whole grains. It makes you feel full and helps your digestive system work normally. Beans have a lot of fiber, and so does brown rice. You could make an awesome rice bowl filled with brown rice, beans, salsa, and vegetables! They all have tons of fiber.

Does It Skip or Limit “Bad for Me” Foods?

Some foods aren’t helpful when it comes to growing up healthy. Lots of kids eat too many “empty calories.” Empty calories are calories that don’t have any nutrients. They can even make you gain weight. Don’t eat very much sugar -- sugar is jam-packed with empty calories. Plus, it messes with your blood sugar, which could leave you full of energy one minute, and totally tired out the next.

Don’t forget that the best way is to make simple, sustainable, healthy changes to your own diet. Just like many things in life, healthy nutrition begins at home.