{"id":132284,"date":"2024-06-30T17:41:38","date_gmt":"2024-06-30T21:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=132284"},"modified":"2024-06-30T17:41:38","modified_gmt":"2024-06-30T21:41:38","slug":"usda-honors-st-lukes-community-health-with-gold-level-turnip-the-beet-award-for-its-summer-meals-program-for-schoolchildren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=132284","title":{"rendered":"USDA Honors St. Luke\u2019s Community Health With Gold-Level Turnip the Beet Award for Its Summer Meals Program for Schoolchildren"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo Caption: Tina Amato, MS, LDN, RD, Manager, Physical Activity & Nutrition, Allentown Health Bureau, serving a nutritious meal during St. Luke\u2019s Summer Meals program in Allentown.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network\u2019s\u00a0\u00a0Department of Community Health<\/a>\u00a0has earned the\u00a02023 Gold-Level\u00a0Turnip the Beet Award \u2013 the highest level possible \u2013 for its Summer Meals program, which provides nutritious, high-quality meals to local schoolchildren in need in the Allentown and Quakertown school districts during the summer months.<\/p>\n

Presented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS), the Turnip the Beet Award recognizes outstanding summer meal program sponsors throughout the United States each year.\u00a0Summer meals are critical in the lives of millions of our nation\u2019s youth, whose risk for food insecurity increases during the summer months when they no longer have access to the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program.<\/p>\n

USDA FNS recognized 140 summer meal sponsors throughout the country with Turnip the Beet awards for excellence in 2023. Among the winners, 55 sponsors qualified for a gold award. The St. Luke\u2019s Summer Meals program is one of only two award recipients \u2013 and the only health system honored \u2013 in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

The St. Luke’s Summer Meals program was recognized for demonstrating a commitment to serving fresh produce to families, which is provided by\u00a0St. Luke\u2019s Rodale Institute Organic Farm<\/a>. In addition to produce from the farm being used in their lunches, families also have the opportunity to take home bags of fresh produce, along with recipes and meal preparation ideas, through the St. Luke’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.<\/p>\n

The St. Luke\u2019s Summer Meals program was launched in response to the Network\u2019s 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). Whitney Szmodis, Ph.D., Epidemiologist in the St. Luke\u2019s Department of Community Health, says there has been a 228% increase in meals served to children since the program started.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen school is out of session, children lose access to the free and reduced-price meals they depend on. We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in the USDA FNS, with support from community-based partners, to bridge the gap in food access for children during the summer months. We are currently in the process of collecting primary data for our 2025 CHNA, and we are consistently seeing food insecurity as a top concern throughout our Network service area. The importance of initiatives like this will continue to be vital to the overall health and development of children in our region,\u201d Dr. Szmodis explains.<\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s Department of Community Health partners with Catholic Charities in Allentown and Free Fall in Quakertown to provide meals outside the hospital to make the summer meals program more accessible, while also allowing program participants to feel more comfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the past several years, St. Luke\u2019s Sacred Heart Hospital has stepped up to the plate to serve free summer lunches to kids in an effort to address food insecurity among families in Allentown.\u00a0St. Luke\u2019s partnership with Catholic Charities and Sacred Heart Church to distribute the meals is exemplary and the three organizations are a hub of community service to families and children in the 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and Chew Streets area of Allentown,\u201d says Tina Amato, MS, LDN, RD, Manager, Physical Activity & Nutrition, Allentown Health Bureau.<\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s Summer Meals program is available for\u00a0anyone ages 18 and younger.\u00a0St. Luke\u2019s hosts the program at two locations:<\/p>\n