Medically Tailored Good Bowls
Melissa Hegarty bowling up some Turkey Vegetable Pasta
The last couple years, we’ve been expanding the range of customers that we serve. Last year we became a meal provider for the Medicaid Healthy Opportunities Pilot(HOP). For participants in this program, we deliver one box of 14 healthy meals to their home each week. As the program grew we noted that many of our new customers had specific dietary needs and to meet these needs and to begin to address the larger interest in Food is Medicine, we created a medically tailored line of Good Bowls.
Kristin Bulpitt and Melissa Hegarty now head our kitchen dedicated to producing Medically Tailored Meals. We’ve created a variety of meals that meet a number of cultural preferences and dietary requirements including carb-controlled meals, low sodium meals, kidney friendly, and heart healthy. Some of the new recipes are Country Captain, Sweet Potato Hash, Meatballs and Mash, Blueberry Crumble Oats (breakfast meal), and many more.
Kristin Bulpitt getting trays of Medically Tailored Meals ready to box up
HOP clients have been really enjoying all the options in our culturally and medically tailored line. The carb-controlled meals allow our diabetic customers to control their carbohydrate intake throughout the day, while eating a delicious, balanced, and healthy meal. Our kidney friendly and heart healthy options allow those customers to do the same - enjoy a variety of delicious and balanced meals that meet their dietary restrictions.
This last year, we also started providing UNC Advanced Care at Home with healthy meal boxes. To help relieve the increasing strain on hospital bed usage, UNC is now allowing certain patients to receive nursing and care in their home for a period of time. During their home care, many of the patients are now receiving a healthy meal box of 14 Good Bowls - allowing them to have healthy food when they don’t have time or energy to cook.
Now that Kristin, Melissa, and staff are preparing large batches of Medically Tailored Meals each week, we recently made carb-controlled meal boxes available to our UNC Advanced Care at Home Customers too. We’re glad to be able to provide them with options like Turkey and Veggie Pasta, or Panko Chicken so they can enjoy a delicious meal and meet their dietary needs. Developing our Medically Tailored meal line positions us well to work with Insurance Companies, health care systems, and community organizations that are increasingly offering Medically Tailored Meals as part of Food is Medicine programs.
