Veggie RX Starts June 6, 2019
Veggie Rx starts June 6!!
Come shop for vegetables, and if you have a LINK card, you qualify for FREE produce!
The produce market is every Thursday at Loyola Center for Health on Roosevelt - 1211 W. Roosevelt Road in Maywood 4pm-6pm
Loyola University Is Talking About VeggieRX
Mary D'Anza Mora, Community School and Wellness Coordinator, offers healthy eating tips to Maywood community members as part of the Veggie RX program at Maywood Park District. (Photo: Lukas Keapproth)
By Nicole Etta, Loyola University Chicago, Feb. 25, 2019
The last grocery store in Maywood, an Aldi's, shuttered on Christmas Eve of 2016. And with it disappeared the neighborhood's easy access to fresh produce and its health-sustaining bounty of fiber, vitamins and nutrients that can help ward off chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and more.
But Mary (D'Anza) Mora, RDN, CDE '02, is determined to change that. Mora works for the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing as a Community School and Wellness Coordinator with Proviso Partners for Health (PP4H), a community-based coalition made up of Loyola University Chicago, Loyola University Health System, and other partners who are collaborating to improve health equity and economic development in Chicago's near west suburbs. Drawing on her background as a registered dietitian nutritionist, a professionally trained chef, and a master gardener volunteer, Mora is a woman on a mission: to increase access to healthy foods in the Maywood, Bellwood, Broadview, and Melrose Park.
"We know that a lot of health issues are within communities that don't have fresh, affordable produce, and this is also a food equity issue," Mora says. "I feel less like a registered dietitian and more like a social justice worker." Continue reading
New VeggieRX Program at Maywood Park District
Please join us for our free vegetable distribution program for Maywood residents!
As we bring fresh produce to Maywood, participants can enjoy healthy cooking demonstrations, recipes and activities.
Pick-Up Dates: Mondays, January 28 - April 1, 3:00pm – 6:00pm
(FREE cooking demonstrations at 3:15, 4:15 and 5:15pm)
Location: Maywood Park District, 921 S. 9th Ave. Maywood, IL
Space is limited, so please contact ASAP if interested
Families are encouraged to participate
Mary Mora at mdanza@luc.edu or 708-531-5929.
If you have a LINK card, you can also earn 50% Off Coupons forLINK purchases at the Proviso Partners Giving Garden ​andWindy City Harvest farm stands this summer!
​VeggieRX and Loyola University Health System (LUHS) Partner for Low-Cost, Healthy Food
Veggie Rx is a new weekly program that provides free produce to SNAP participants, incorporates healthy cooking demonstrations, and a low-cost farm stand to community members at the Loyola Center for Health at Elmwood Park. This partnership between PP4H, Windy City Harvest, and LUHS aims to increase access to fresh, locally grown, affordable foods to residents in Proviso Township. Each week, participants receive recipes, produce, and support to increase their fruit and vegetable intake.
As an example, on Thursday, October 18, fifteen VeggieRX participants enjoyed a Tangy Asian Salad dressing prepared by the team, and received a free bag of produce that included swiss chard, sweet peppers, baby red beets, lettuce mix, Asian greens, and purple carrots grown locally by Windy City Harvest.
The pop-up farm stand offers produce grown at the Proviso Partners Giving Garden in Maywood at affordable prices and has reached record breaking sales for the season!
Please join us every Thursday from 4-6pm at 7255 W Grand Ave, Elmwood Park, now through November 15, 2018. Anyone can participate in the cooking demonstration and farm stand, but to receive a bag of produce, you must be an active SNAP participant.
For more information, ask your healthcare provider or contact Mary Mora at mdanza@luc.edu • 708.531.5929
Veggie RX participant Mr. McGhee has been using his culinary skills to prepare his produce....and has the photo to prove it!
The Giving Garden Participates in the Cook County Department of Public Health Food Summit October 5-6, 2018
The Giving Garden tour.
Co-sponsored by the Cook County DPH and Loyola University Health Sciences, the theme of this year's food summit was "How to Make Good Food Widely Available and Cheap".
At the Pre-Summit Urban Farms Tour on the morning of October 5, participants saw two local urban farms, the Proviso Giving Garden and the OK Farm*, (a program developed by the organization Opportunity Knocks). Both gardens were developed on land donated by ReUse Depot at 50 W. Madison Street, Maywood, IL
The participants heard each farm's story, and how they support social and business enterprises that are making a difference to local communities and residents. Chris Epps led the Giving Garden tour.
Tour at the OK garden
Opportunity Knocks is dedicated to providing opportunities and resources for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities so they may pursue their educational, occupational and social interests.
History of the OK Farm
The OK Farm was conceived in late 2015 as a way to give the Warriors a role in the local sustainable food movement by creating a 'seed to jar' experience with our Knockout Pickle production. The idea was to plant, grow and harvest the key supply requirements in order to produce a locally grown and locally made pickle.
​The Farm was launched in April through a land partnership with our friends at Reuse Depot and a tremendous amount of support from many others in terms of volunteer hours, landscape/garden supplies and equipment. In a short period of time, we turned a 2,500 square foot field off Madison Street into lush, handicap-accessible urban farm.
Giving Garden CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Starts This Year
The Giving Garden is experimenting with a CSA for Fall 2018. Depending on community interest and involvement, this may turn into a year-wide program! For a set fee, participants will get a weekly box of vegetables. All vegetables are from the Giving Garden and will change as the season changes and what is being harvested that week.
For more information, contact garden manager Chris Epps at christopherepps823@gmail.com
Proviso Partners for Health Giving Garden Participates in Loyola University's 2018 Nutrition Expo
Christopher Epps discusses Food Justice with a Loyola Health System employee.
PP4H's Giving Garden had a display at the Nutrition Expo for Health Care Professionals, April 3, 2018. Garden manager Christopher Epps discussed the health benefits of gardening and of fresh grown food and opportunities to volunteer with the Giving Garden community. More than a dozen people signed up to volunteer at the garden and farm stand. Chris also sold bags of this year's first crop of spinach from the garden!
The Expo was located at Loyola's Maywood campus and sponsored by the School of Nursing Dietetic Interns, Stritch School of Medicine, and the Accelerated Bachelor's of Science Nursing program. The expo covered all aspects of patient nutrition for medical students, doctors, nurses, and staff at Loyola and Loyola University Health Care System.
Food Justice Supporting the local food system through urban gardening and farm stands
Cultivates health equity and community economic business development
Manages the urban agriculture growing, harvest donations, and farm stand sales for the Giving Garden and other PP4H community gardens
Educates and trains Proviso youth on urban agriculture and improving job readiness skills
Supports PP4H's Veggie RX no-cost fresh produce distribution program serving local families in partnership with Loyola health clinics​