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ABOUT US
Feeding the People empowers low-income diabetics with home-delivered meals, education, and ongoing support.
Our mission is to develop and implement a research-based model of nutrition-related in-home care for under-served, low-income diabetics in order to reduce the incidence of diabetes and diabetes related illnesses in Maryland.
THE ISSUE
The Diabetes Epidemic in Maryland
- In 2007, an estimated 358,189 or 8.5% of Maryland adults had diagnosed diabetes.
- Another 143,000 are estimated to have had undiagnosed diabetes.
- In 2003-2006 25.9% of US adults aged 20 years or older (35.4% in adults 60 years or older) had Impaired Fasting Glucose. (CDC Fact Sheet)
- Research has found that lifestyle interventions are more cost-effective than medication. (CDC Fact Sheet)
Low-income diabetics face three major obstacles to managing their nutritional needs:
- The high cost of fresh, unprocessed whole foods;
- The prohibitive expense of frequent trips to the grocery store to purchase perishable foods; and
- The lack of intensive, ongoing, nutritional guidance and education.
Low-income diabetics living on a fixed income tend to purchase all of their groceries at the beginning of the month and stock up on the cheapest food they can afford such as white bread, macaroni and cheese, and ramen noodles. These low-quality, processed foods have devastating effects on the health of diabetics.
Feeding the People will provide low-income diabetics with nutritious meals, education, and support.
SERVICES
Diabetic Meals: Feeding the People partners with Moveable Feast to provide diabetic-appropriate meals. Movable Feast is a Baltimore-based nonprofit that delivers nutritious meals to homebound Marylanders living with HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and other life-threatening conditions. Feeding the People subsidizes the cost of each meal.
Diabetes Education: Feeding the People works with diabetes educators and registered nurtitionists to educate clients about healthy food choices and diabetes self-management.
Ongoing Support: Feeding the People encourages clients to monitor their blood sugar levels and adhering to their self-care regimen during weekly visits. We also help to coordinate care with health care providers.
GOALS
Our goals include stabilizing glucose levels, reducing obesity, and decreasing preventable diabetes-related complications such as kidney disease, amputations, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and emergency room visits. Our program will help save lives and reduce Medicare costs
"As a social worker with over seven years of experience providing in-home mental health services for the chronically mentally ill, I have personally witnessed the devastating effects of diabetes on low-income people. I believe that Feeding the People will save lives."
- Jennifer Schugam, Executive Director |
