‘Knowledge is Always Power’: 53205 Residents Learn Best Nutrition Practices Through HEAL Program

By Ana Martinez-Ortiz

When Joella Holloway found out she had diabetes, she took a proactive approach to her health. She started coming to Cross Lutheran Church’s Healthy Eating and Active Living Program also known as HEAL.

In class, Holloway learned how to read the labels on food and ways to manage her diabetes such as walking. Since joining the class, she’s lost 10 pounds.

Holloway is one of 20 or so participants who visit Cross Lutheran Church’s Bread of Healing Empowerment Ministry. The class is offered at Cross Lutheran Church, 1821 N. 16th St., the first and third Wednesday of every month at 10:30 a.m. In the ministry’s HEAL program, attendees enjoy a healthy meal, discuss nutrition and healthy eating habits and exercise.

The classes are led by Linda Radder, a faith community nurse for Advocate Aurora Healthcare.

The HEAL program began several years ago when the American Cancer Society and its partner Kohl’s Healthy Families approached Cross Lutheran Church with an opportunity to be a part of the pilot program. Radder explained that the American Cancer Society had done a needs assessment and found that the 53205 ZIP code is a food desert – residents lacked access to grocery stores and to healthy foods.

In its first year, the church received $25,000 for the program and $35,000 in its second. This year, it received $30,000. The grant covers the cost of food, exercise bands and pedometers and gift cards.

Each participant receives a $20 gift card at the end of class to Pick ‘N Save, Radder said. While the gift card could be an incentive for some, many come for educational aspect and socialization.

Diane Currie began attending the class because of her children, but she stayed because of the knowledge she’s gained and the friendships.

“Knowledge is always power,” she said. “The more you know the more you can do.”

Growing up, Currie didn’t think about eating healthy, what her mom cooked, she ate.

“I wasn’t used to eating healthy,” Currie said. “When you eat, you don’t think about sodium or carbs, you’re eating.”

Since coming to class, Currie has learned about calories and carbohydrates. And when she takes her grandchildren to the park, she’s exercising right along with them.

“I lost weight from this class,” Currie said. “And let me tell you, I feel so much better and lighter. I feel it from the inside. I lost on the outside, but on the inside I feel different.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit last March, many of the church’s programs went virtual, but not HEAL. Participants asked the church to keep it in-person, Radder said. While she was apprehensive about her safety and the safety of the class, everyone assured her they would maintain social distancing and wear masks.

“For me it was a real blessing,” Radder said. “It was really the only thing that was normal. I give it a lot of credit for keeping me sane – saner – and happier. It really gave me a purpose.”

It’s a fun group, she said. They’re enthusiastic to learn and to try new things. In between classes, Radder calls and check in on participants to see how they’re getting along.

During the class on Wednesday, Nov. 3, the group enjoyed homemade tortilla soup and discussed sodium intake. Radder went over the soup recipe and tested the class’s knowledge.

Many of the participants have health conditions, she said, and this class helps them manage them.

Bernadette Williams, for example, joined the class after being diagnosed with diabetes. Williams is taking the information she learns in class and sharing it with her family. She enjoys cooking at home and the class is teaching her new ways to make healthy and flavorful food.

Yvette Smith takes the class for the lessons.

“I come for the knowledge and to be here another day,” she said.

While Smith doesn’t have diabetes, she knows a lot of people who do, and she knew her habit of overeating when frustrated wasn’t healthy.

“When I’m frustrated, I overeat,” she said. “Whatever I cook I’m going to pile my plate up and eat. I have to keep coming to these groups so I can do what I need to do to keep myself healthy. I’ll be here another day, because I am a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother.”

Through the class, Smith learned to rinse canned green beans to eliminate the extra sodium before tossing them in the pot. She’s learned to use other seasoning aside from salt, and when she eats fried chicken, she follows it up with plenty of water.

Everything she learns, she passes on to her cousin.

While the program could be deemed a success, external challenges still a play a part in participants’ daily lives.

“There still are not very accessible grocery stores and if there are corner stores or stores where some food is able to be purchased, it’s not necessarily healthy,” Radder said.

Funding is set to end next year, Radder said. In the past, the church has continued the nutrition class in between grants. Radder plans to continue offering the class and remains hopeful that more funding will come through.

Her goal is to have the participants prepare the meal under her guidance. It’s another step in showing their autonomy, she said, and it’ll encourage them to foster their knowledge and skills on their own.

“I’m hoping that they’re not only doing a better job – and some of them I know they are – but that they’re taking it to where they live, to their grandchildren, children, maybe mothers and fathers,” she said.