Santa Maria residents who struggle with both diabetes and food insecurity now have opportunities to educate themselves on their condition, through the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County‘s Healthy Eating for Diabetes program.
The program begins with a series of four weekly classes, which educate attendees on diabetes, nutrition, and cooking. Those who attend three of the four classes are then eligible to receive six months’ worth of bi-weekly, diabetes-friendly food packages, which are high in fiber and low in carbohydrates and fats. They can also meet up with a quarterly social support group to check in and receive healthy meals.
“The Foodbank wanted to provide something specifically for people with diabetes, as we see the number of people with diabetes among our clients is fairly high,” Food Bank Community Programs Director Tonja Van Gorp told the Sun.
The Foodbank surveyed its clients, and 21 percent of them said they have a diabetic person in their household.
“If I talk to 10 people in line at the Foodbank, it’s very likely there’s one or two who are diabetic or know someone who’s diabetic,” Van Gorp said. “People who are food insecure have more difficulties in managing their diabetes, so that puts them at risk for complications in the future.”
The Foodbank began its diabetes education program earlier this year and completed four rounds of it, which drew in 35 total participants. The program is free for attendees, who must fill out a qualification survey before taking the classes, ensuring they live below a certain income threshold.
Of the four-program series, three were Spanish-speaking and one was in English.
“We want to have it accessible to everybody,” Van Gorp said. “However, we do see an increase in diabetes among the Hispanic population so we did target them a little more.”
Both the classes and social support gatherings offer free health screenings, set up by the Marian Regional Medical Center. The screenings help the Foodbank monitor whether the program is helping to improve its participants’ health, and it can also help get those people’s foot in the door as far as health care goes.
“The clinic comes in the class and is more visible to Foodbank clients there, as well, so access to health care could start there,” Van Gorp said. “If they feel they are at risk and haven’t seen a doctor in a while, it might trigger them to come to class.”
Van Gorp said the Foodbank will launch a new series of diabetes education classes in the new year.
This article appears in Sep 22-29, 2016.
