Boca Helping Hands Offers Free Health and Wellness Classes and Expanded Pantry Services in March, National Nutrition Month
Boca Raton, FL – March is National Nutrition Month and Boca Helping Hands (BHH) is continuing to promote good nutrition by offering free health and wellness classes and expanding its Pantry Bag Program.
“Nutrition is a priority year-round at Boca Helping Hands, ” said Greg Hazle, BHH Executive Director. “Our ultimate goal is to help our clients gain financial independence, and eating well and maintaining good health are critical to that, as medical bills and health issues can cause someone to fall into poverty or prevent them from escaping it.”
The free health and wellness classes are offered in partnership with Baptist Health South Florida (BHSF). Typically held twice per month, BHSF’s classes are open to the public and available virtually. Each class focuses on ways individuals can improve their overall health through presentations from field experts, like Joi Renee Canton (MSN, RN, NPD-BC) Class Instructor and Boca Raton Regional Hospital Manager, part of Baptist Health, for Community Outreach Population and Corporate Health. Upcoming classes will be held on Friday, March 18 at noon and Friday, March 25 at noon.
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“One of the priorities of Boca Raton Regional Hospital, part of Baptist Health, is to address the need for health and wellness within the communities we serve,” Canton said. “Partnering with Boca Helping Hands allows us to reach the community and let people know why nutrition is important. Our presentations are interactive and fun, and I hope the audience can walk away feeling educated and empowered enough to make changes that will benefit their lives.”
To sign up, visit https://www.bocahelpinghands.org/HealthyLiving.
Boca Helping Hands recently expanded their pantry bag services, launching a three-month pilot program to provide clients with boxes of locally-sourced fresh produce, thanks to support from Gerstner Philanthropies. Clients received their first box of vegetables in February through this program, which aims to promote good health by distributing fresh, nutritious produce from local farms. The program will continue through April — and hopefully longer, if BHH can secure additional funding.
Another way that BHH promotes good nutrition is by providing clients with an electronic cookbook full of simple, healthy recipes using staple items included in BHH’s pantry bags. Compiled by two local Girl Scouts, Analiesa Chavez and Kelsey Bonner, as part of a service project last year, all of the recipes were curated to help clients more easily prepare healthy meals at home. Having easy-to-follow recipes also encourages clients to try using some of the ingredients that they aren’t as familiar with that might otherwise go to waste.
All of these nutrition initiatives are key components of BHH’s health-and-wellness program, along with its gluten-free pantry program and a healthcare voucher program that expands medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare access to the uninsured.
About Boca Helping Hands
Boca Helping Hands (BHH) is a community-based nonprofit that provides food, medical and financial assistance to meet basic human needs as well as education, job training and guidance to create self-sufficiency. Through its various programs, BHH assists over 27,000 people annually.
In 2021, BHH distributed more than 70,000 pantry bags from five Palm Beach County locations and served nearly 80,000 hot meals. The organization expands access to affordable medical, dental and behavioral care through its partnerships with Genesis Community Health (serving clients at clinics in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach) and Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing Community Based Clinics (serving residents in West Palm Beach). In addition, BHH sends weekend meals home with food-insecure elementary school students via the BHH Backpacks Program and assists working families with the rising cost of childcare through the Children’s Assistance Program (CAP).
With an increased focus on client self-sufficiency, BHH awards scholarships for qualified candidates to attend accredited vocational training classes that prepare them for careers in the healthcare, information technology, construction, and transportation industries. BHH also offers free English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes, courses in nutrition, and other life skills. In addition, staff and volunteer mentors counsel the unemployed and underemployed in basic workplace skills and help them polish resumes and search for jobs.
Boca Helping Hands is a partner agency of The Town of Palm Beach United Way. Since 1945, the Town of Palm Beach United Way has been committed to improving lives and building strong communities throughout Palm Beach County by focusing on programs and priorities that promote education, health, and financial stability.
Charity Navigator named Boca Helping Hands a Four-Star Charity for the 15th consecutive year in June 2021. Boca Helping Hands is located at 1500 NW 1st Court, Boca Raton, FL 33432. For more information, please visit BocaHelpingHands.org
