FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Barbara Teszler, 310-395-0757 [email protected]
NEW PROGRAM HEALING MEALS ASSURES NUTRITIOUS MEALS FOR ILL CHILDREN
HealthBarn Foundation Partners with Community Organizations, Students and Food Producers
to Fill Need for Good Nutrition with a Gift of Love
HACKENSACK, NJ (March 4, 2014) – HealthBarn Foundation 501c3 is launching the first of its kind Healing Meals food gifting program in Bergen County. Healing Meals provides nutritious meals for children and families undergoing treatment for cancer and serious blood disorders and their families distributed through Tomorrows Children’s Fund (TCF) at Hackensack University Medical Center. Registered Dietitian and HealthBarn Foundation, Director Stacey Antine hand selected the kid-tested, family-friendly recipes from APPETITE FOR LIFE. Culinary student volunteers from the Bergen County Academies’ SkillsUSA Club in Hackensack will prepare the recipes at Meals with a Mission in Garfield using fresh, natural and organic foods donated by Whole Foods Market locations in Edgewater, Paramus and Ridgewood as well as Abma’s Farm in Wyckoff. HealthBarn Foundation will purchase additional ingredients and packaging. Funding for this cause is made possible through public donations at www.healthbarnfoundation.org.
Children with cancer and serious blood disorders have heightened nutritional needs and may lack access to nutritionally healthy meals. “Helping thousands of families eat healthy and personally dealing with cancer in my family, I knew the only way to help children get good nutrition during this stressful time of treatment was to prepare meals and make them readily available for families,” says Antine. Partnering with Tomorrows Children’s Fund sets the bar high for quality and safety and creates a replicable model for hospitals across the country. “The Healing Meals program will enable our families to take home a nutritious meal after spending a long day at the hospital. It also supports our dietitian who educates families about healthy food choices, and now we can literally hand the family this amazing gift,” says Lynn Hoffman, Executive Director, TCF.
The program creates an avenue for kids to interactively learn about nutrition while doing a good deed and cooking for one another. “Healing Meals is exactly the type of leadership project exemplifying our students’ skills, maturity, and passion, which will help make this project a resounding success. We are thrilled to be included in the collaboration,” asserts Chef Mary Beth Brace, Bergen County Academies chef/instructor and SkillsUSA Chapter Advisor.
Meals with a Mission provides up to 9,000 meals each month for organizations that care for and help feed those less fortunate in Northern New Jersey. “Healing Meals enables us to venture into meal preparation for children with illness in collaboration with food and nutrition experts,” says Joe Blythe, Director of Meals with a Mission. Whole Foods Market locations in Edgewater, Paramus and Ridgewood as well as Abma’s Farm in Wyckoff are donating foods to ensure the use of high quality, natural and organic ingredients for the gift of Healing Meals to ill children and their families.
Support the Healing Meals program by making a donation at www.healthbarnfoundation.org.
HealthBarn Foundation is a New Jersey non-profit corporation and a federally recognized 501c3 public charity with a mission to gift children and families healthy food through access and in conjunction with nutrition education. There are currently three initiatives that are being funded with generous support from the public including: Healing Meals, Farm-to-Table Scholarships and School Nutrition Education. Email [email protected] or call 201-241-2774 for more information.