Eating healthy is always important, but never so much as now during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact is that eating certain foods can actually boost your immune system—providing vitamins and minerals that support immune functions and protecting the body from sickness. To help spread the word about this valuable piece of nutrition information, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and Aetna Medicare Advantage have teamed up to include special cards in Grocery Bags for Seniors distributions in January 2021. Aetna’s partnership continues this year to support Community Health Education initiatives.
These cards will list a variety of immune boosting foods, including citrus fruits, yogurt, spinach, and more to help those individuals that receive the cards know what to look for when selecting groceries with this added health benefit. There’s also a recipe for an Ultimate Breakfast Smoothie printed on the card, which includes several of the immune boosting foods shown.
To make this breakfast smoothie, you will need:
1 medium banana
½ cup sliced strawberries
½ cup blueberries
¼ cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1 tbsp almond butter
½ cup baby spinach
½ cup almond milk
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve chilled. Enjoy!
Grocery Bags for Seniors is one of the Food Shuttle’s longest running programs. It distributes bags of shelf-stable foods and fresh produce that provide up to 8 nutritious meals for seniors living in low-income communities. It is currently estimated that 9% of North Carolina seniors struggle with food insecurity. The Food Shuttle’s Grocery Bags for Seniors program distributes close to 2,000 bags per month to seniors living in 29 communities.