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Syracuse, New York-based AIDS
Community Resources (ACR) will participate in a nine-county program across
central and Northern New York that will provide a nutrition program for AIDS
patients who are now living longer thanks to medical treatment advancements.
The five-year grant-funded program combines food vouchers and nutrition
education that teaches patients to take better care of their long-term health.
Participants receive $50 food vouchers every two weeks and must participate in
group and individual nutrition education sessions.
In the sessions, the patients learn
to eat more nutritiously by using healthier ways of cooking food. Many of the
patients, however, are concerned about the higher cost of a healthier diet, as
they are on food stamps and struggle to pay their bills. Nutrition educator
Gabrielle Mayfield emphasizes budgeting as a key part of the program, and covers
unit pricing, budget shopping, and meal planning as ways the participants can
stretch their food dollars.
Steve Wood, community health
advocate coordinator at ACR, notes that good nutrition can help address some of
the side effects of the medications patients are taking, as the medications can
task patient’s kidneys, livers, and bones. One patient, HIV-positive since he
was a teenager, recently became a vegetarian to lower his cholesterol level.
Once prescribed 63 pills three times a day, he is embracing cooking with
nutritious options to reduce his cholesterol naturally while learning multiple
ways to cook food for a longer and healthier life with AIDS.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
