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By Grace Siggers
Per the USDA's official site, "The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) works to improve the health of low-income elderly persons at least 60 years of age by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA foods."
It has been said that everything we eat or drink matters. In the nutrition lessons that are demonstrated using MyPlate, this is a quote well used. Aging is something to be considered when we make food choices. How we eat and what we eat as we age can make a difference in our health as well as how we feel.
Healthy foods and beverages can increase our energy levels, improve digestion, and help prevent chronic disease. The CSFP provides a monthly food package tailored for older adults age 60 or above that can help stretch your food dollars and add nutritious foods to your diet for good health.
In Louisiana's East and West Carroll parishes, the nutrition educator and SNAP-Ed supervisor provide programs to commodity food distribution sites. These programs help the elderly stretch their food dollars by conducting food demonstrations and using our program's Nutritionally Yours fact sheets to help them better use their commodity food. After the demonstration and taste testing, fact sheets and recipes are given to take home for better use of their distributed commodity foods. Some of the sites visited are the Comfort Corner, Foot Prints, and Community Action.
When illustrating food demonstration, it is explained to participants that everything they eat or drink matters. We encourage them to eat better to live a healthier life. In changing their eating habits, we emphasize to them that if they have special dietary needs, check with their doctor or registered dietitian about how these foods can fit into their healthy eating pattern.