FRESH & FRUGAL - THANKS TO WALMART FOUNDATION
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Thank you to the Walmart Foundation for making this program possible.
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In 2018 RMHC Arkansas added a new program - Fresh & Frugal – to benefit families staying at Ronald McDonald House. The focus of Fresh & Frugal is to help them learn how to create healthy, low-cost, quick meals and snacks to help relieve stress generated by concerns over the critical nature of their child’s health. The majority of the families who stay at RMHCA (87%) are families with low incomes. The goal was to provide access to fresh, whole foods, give them tools to recreate healthy meals when they went back to their own homes, and tools to deal with a great deal of stress.
The goal of Fresh & Frugal was to instruct these families on how to prepare easy and healthy meals for as little cost as possible. Ideally, menus would utilize foods that are available through the WIC and SNAP programs. Healthy Cooking Classes (named "Walmart Chef Nights") were offered twelve times in 2018. Beginning with the July class, several local chefs, members of the UA Division of Agriculture Office created a fun and educational environment for families to learn about healthy cooking and eating. Families played Nutrition Bingo and other games focused on nutrition.
The "grab-and-go" healthy snack bag was a huge success and saved families money. All day access to healthy food was provided every day to all 32 families staying at Ronald McDonald House. An average of 23-27 bags were utilized by families each day.
Plus, snack bags were delivered twice a week (from April - December) to families and dinner was provided one night a week to families in the NICU at UAMS; a 63-bed unit and home to the only High-Risk Pregnancy Program in Arkansas. With the unplanned services at UAMS, RMHCA provided healthy food to approximately 3500 people in 2018.
Stress relief was also an important goal of the Fresh & Frugal program. In addition to healthy eating options, the program took a holistic approach to overall health and stress reduction of families in the House. Families were also provided with yoga classes to help relieve stress and meditation classes to help them know how to reduce stress during their very stressful lives.
Thank you to the Walmart Foundation for making this program possible for families at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas!
If you have any questions about the program, please contact Donna Csunyo, Programs Director – 501.374.7542 or donna@rmhcarkansas.org.
The goal of Fresh & Frugal was to instruct these families on how to prepare easy and healthy meals for as little cost as possible. Ideally, menus would utilize foods that are available through the WIC and SNAP programs. Healthy Cooking Classes (named "Walmart Chef Nights") were offered twelve times in 2018. Beginning with the July class, several local chefs, members of the UA Division of Agriculture Office created a fun and educational environment for families to learn about healthy cooking and eating. Families played Nutrition Bingo and other games focused on nutrition.
The "grab-and-go" healthy snack bag was a huge success and saved families money. All day access to healthy food was provided every day to all 32 families staying at Ronald McDonald House. An average of 23-27 bags were utilized by families each day.
Plus, snack bags were delivered twice a week (from April - December) to families and dinner was provided one night a week to families in the NICU at UAMS; a 63-bed unit and home to the only High-Risk Pregnancy Program in Arkansas. With the unplanned services at UAMS, RMHCA provided healthy food to approximately 3500 people in 2018.
Stress relief was also an important goal of the Fresh & Frugal program. In addition to healthy eating options, the program took a holistic approach to overall health and stress reduction of families in the House. Families were also provided with yoga classes to help relieve stress and meditation classes to help them know how to reduce stress during their very stressful lives.
Thank you to the Walmart Foundation for making this program possible for families at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas!
If you have any questions about the program, please contact Donna Csunyo, Programs Director – 501.374.7542 or donna@rmhcarkansas.org.
