FRESH & FRUGAL PROGRAM
Made possible by a grant from Ronald McDonald House Charities / Abbvie
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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. Fresh & Frugal gives them access to fresh, whole foods, gives them tools to recreate healthy meals when they return to their own homes, and tools to deal with a great deal of stress.
The goal of Fresh & Frugal is 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 "Fresh & Frugal Chef Nights") are offered twelve times a year.
The "grab-and-go" healthy snack bag is a huge success. All day access to healthy food is provided every day to all 32 families staying at Ronald McDonald House. An average of 23-27 bags are utilized by families each day. Plus, snack bags are delivered twice a week 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.
Thank you to the RMHC Global and AbbVie 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 is 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 "Fresh & Frugal Chef Nights") are offered twelve times a year.
The "grab-and-go" healthy snack bag is a huge success. All day access to healthy food is provided every day to all 32 families staying at Ronald McDonald House. An average of 23-27 bags are utilized by families each day. Plus, snack bags are delivered twice a week 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.
Thank you to the RMHC Global and AbbVie 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 Fresh & Frugal app will soon be available on the Apple Store, too!
