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One of Philadelphia’s most well-known meals packages has undergone a metamorphosis.
It’s mission is similar, however as of final month, Sunday Suppers—a decade-old citywide meals and diet program—has change into Nourish, a brand new meal package supply service run by New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC).
“Although I’ll not be concerned within the day-to-day operations,“ Sunday Suppers Director Linda Samost wrote in a letter to supporters, “I’ll proceed to help the efforts of Nourish and NKCDC and I hope you’ll too, in order that they’ll undertake and increase our unique objectives of advancing meals justice and addressing social determinants of well being.”
Since 2011, Sunday Suppers has used weekly three-course group dinners as a discussion board for hands-on cooking classes, diet recommendation, and suggestions for procuring on a restricted finances. With the start of COVID-19 restrictions in March 2020, the group made certain taking part households had entry to meals and the funds to purchase it, Samost mentioned, and commenced creating meals bins with wholesome recipes and sources.
The new Nourish program, run by Sunday Suppers’ present program supervisor, Jacquelyn Saez, will ship weekly meal kits to households containing wholesome entire meals, easy recipes, dietary info, kitchen checklists, recommended bodily exercise, and social service info. Nourish may even provide bi-weekly Zoom calls specializing in cooking instruction and different pertinent info.
Saez was born and raised in Kensington. While learning Public Health at Temple University, she realized concerning the hyperlinks between weight loss program, diet training and meals entry, and the well being disparities in low-income communities each regionally and globally. The data catalyzed her determination to change into a well being educator, specializing in cultural traditions and lived experiences of her group and the group she serves. She has been program supervisor for Sunday Suppers since 2017.
Samost mentioned that she had two goals when she based Sunday Suppers in 2011: to strengthen the well being and well-being of low-income households, and to in the future flip over the day by day operations to leaders within the communities it serves.
“The day is lastly right here,” she mentioned.
“We are grateful for the years of progressive work from Sunday Suppers, the experience of the workers concerned, and the great match the brand new Nourish program will likely be for NKCDC and the communities we serve,” mentioned NKCDC Executive Director Dr. Bill McKinney.
“Our a part of Kensington ranks final of 46 Philadelphia neighborhoods surveyed for well being elements and well being outcomes in a 2019 survey by the City of Philadelphia and Drexel University,” McKinney mentioned. “Good public well being means greater than good hospitals. It additionally means gaining access to wholesome, inexpensive meals.”
From 2011 to 2018, NKCDC partnered with St. Christopher’s Foundation for Children to supply weekly bins of contemporary meals from Lancaster County farms, obtainable by subscription. When that partnership led to July 2018, NKCDC started in search of a meals and diet program that would serve the group round its places of work in Kensington.
Since 2018, NKCDC has educated and employed 30 Community Health Workers as a part of Philadelphia’s Health Enterprise Zone, funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services in partnership with Thomas Jefferson University. Four of NKCDC’s well being staff have been interning with Sunday Suppers and the pilot section of the Nourish program, offering further help for taking part households by means of a needs assessment and specialised useful resource plans.
“The Nourish program is a vital subsequent step towards bettering well being outcomes for Kensington, Fairhill and Juniata residents,” McKinney mentioned. “We ask for everybody’s help in honoring the work of Sunday Suppers by making our new Nourish program a hit.”
Donations to Nourish could also be made by means of the NKCDC web site at nkcdc.org/nourish.