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FARMINGTON — MaineHealth is offering another round of the free one-year Food as Medicine program to support individuals with one or more chronic health conditions who have limited access to healthy food.
The session begins Monday, Jan. 16, when it will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The program includes face-to-face and virtual classes, and will be held by kathy Doyon, a trained health educator from the Healthy Community Coalition of Greater Franklin County.
To be eligible, participants must have limited access to affordable healthy food; are age 18 or older; have a chronic health condition; want to make healthy lifestyle changes; and have a MaineHealth primary care provider, which includes Franklin Health providers.
The program provides access to free healthy food (10 meals weekly for up to a family of 4), peer support, goal setting, healthy cooking classes, recipes, and menu planning. Additionally, participants get helpful resources and information related to their chronic conditions.
One recent participant said, “I’m finding it really interesting. Kathy has given us a lot of nice recipes, we’re learning different ways to use seasonings and I’m learning a great deal from the class. I’m even reading food labels now too.”
LeeAnna Lavoie, HCC director, said, “This new and exciting program is designed to meet people where they are at with their health, provide the right tools, skills and support to make small changes over time to feel better. Change can be hard, especially if people don’t have access to the right type of food to help keep them healthy. This program will provide the right food and teach skills to cook healthy, affordable, and most importantly, delicious food! All while being supported by others who are working on similar goals.”
For more information or to sign up email Kathy.Doyon@mainehealth.org.
