Feeding the hungry with more than food

Food Bank and Health Department team up to help recipients of free food learn how to prepare a healthy meal.

Theresa Potochak of Greenacres spent an hour at the library the other day. She came home not with books but with a box of fresh vegetables and advice on how to cook them. 

The unemployed Greenacres woman was among a dozen people who sat down May 14 for the latest two-course nutrition program served up at the county’s Lantana library by the Palm Beach County Food Bank and the Florida Department of Health. 

“I loved it,” she said. “I will be back for more.”

Launched in March, the goal of the free mobile Food and Nutrition Program is simple: to help the county’s 192,000 food-insecure residents eat a nutritious, well-balanced meal. 

Food Bank volunteers and registered dietitians set up shop once a month at six locations around the county, bringing fresh produce and nutritional advice directly to people who are often out of reach of traditional food pantries. 

The dietitians offer a short class on how to prepare a nutritious meal. Then, the Food Bank gives class participants a free box of fruit, vegetables and other items to take home to cook — so they can apply what they learned at the class.  

“By combining access to nutritious food with practical education, we are empowering families to make healthier choices,” said Dr. Jyothi Gunta, director of the Department of Health’s Palm Beach County office. 

Participants are encouraged to share their medical histories so the Food Bank can create a customized food basket. For example, people managing chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension will receive food and cooking advice aligned with recommended dietary guidelines. 

“This program represents a significant step forward in how we serve Palm Beach County,” Food Bank CEO Jamie Kendall said.

“We’re not only delivering food where it’s needed most. We are pairing it with education and medically tailored options to support long-term health,” she said.

The program costs more than $1 million a year, paid for in part by federal American Rescue Plan grants to the county. Two other partners, Baptist Health and Florida Blue Foundation, are helping pay for the medically tailored food boxes.

“Additional funding is critical to scale these clinical partnerships and ensure that thousands of neighbors struggling with diet-related health conditions receive the exact nutrition required for their wellness,” County Commissioner Marci Woodward said in March.   

The program kicked off in West Palm, Lantana and Delray Beach, then expanded to Greenacres, Jupiter and Belle Glade.

Chicken, corn and potatoes on a white board

The May program in Lantana started at 1 pm in a library conference room where a registered Health Department dietitian shared nutritional advice with Potochak and 11 others, including seniors and mothers. 

More of a relaxed conversation than a formal lecture, nutritionist Wynna Dunmyer used a whiteboard and magnetic images of food items such as chicken, corn and potatoes to illustrate the importance of a daily healthy balanced meal.  

“So what are we getting from vegetables? We’re getting tons of vitamins and minerals you can’t get from other foods, especially protein and grain,” Dunmyer said.  

“You can get a lot of similar vitamins and minerals in fruit but vegetables are special because they tend to have more fiber, which is a wonderful nutrient for your digestive system,” she said. 

After about 35 minutes, Dunmyer dismissed the class and directed the participants to the library’s parking lot where a team of volunteers waited at a table next to a Food Bank truck stocked with vegetables, fruit, rice and canned goods.  

“Thank you so much,” Vietnam veteran Michael Rivers of Boynton Beach said after a volunteer packed the box into the trunk of his car. “This is a big help. I’m on Social Security. Bills and everything keep piling up.”

For Nadia Koluch, it was her third time participating in the monthly Lantana program. 

At the first in March, she helped a Health Department dietitian make a  salad dressing from fresh-squeezed lemons. 

“It was interesting and fun,” Koluch said. “Everyone always needs a reminder of how to eat well and to learn different recipes and to hear what other people eat.” 

Potochak said she will recommend the program to her friends and neighbors. 

“Get in here you will learn something,” she said. “I learned stuff I didn’t know. I honestly didn’t think it would be that interesting but it was.”

To register and find a location for the Food and Nutrition Program, email info@pbcfoodbank.org or call 561-670-2518.