National Nutrition Month – Staying Nourished on Any Budget
Written by Corner Health Center Public Health Interns Lynsey Mura & Tannis Thompson-Catlett
March is National Nutrition Month, a time for everyone to learn more about developing healthy eating and lifestyle habits. This year’s theme, “Discovering the Power of Nutrition,” highlights how nutritious food choices can help individuals and communities thrive.
To make healthy eating more accessible, we are sharing practical tips to simplify cooking and meal preparation, along with information about community food resources.
Keep a Well-Stocked Pantry
If you do not have time to grocery shop every week or have limited time to cook, keeping your kitchen stocked with shelf-stable and frozen foods can make meal preparation much easier. You can find many of these items at your local food pantries!
Shelf Stable Products
- Canned beans, peas, and lentils (black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, etc.)
- Canned Veggies with no added salt
- Whole grains (oats, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, whole grain bread)
- Peanut Butter or other nut butter
- Canned chicken
- Vegetable Broth
- Olive oil or canola oil
- Favorite spices
Frozen Foods
- Frozen, steamed veggies
- Frozen fruit
- Frozen meat and poultry
Meal Ideas Using Pantry Staples
So, you have these items in your kitchen, but now what? Many of these ingredients can be combined in different ways to create simple meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. See the table below for inspiration.
|
Meal |
Description |
|
Oatmeal with Fruit & Peanut Butter |
Oats topped with frozen or canned fruit and peanut butter |
|
Peanut Butter Toast & Fruit |
Whole grain toast with peanut butter or nut butter, served with canned fruit |
|
Breakfast Rice Bowl |
Warm brown rice with peanut butter or nut butter and frozen fruit, optionally seasoned with cinnamon |
|
Chicken Salad Sandwiches |
Canned chicken mixed with olive oil, spices, and optional veggies, served on whole grain bread |
|
Lentil Soup |
Canned lentils, canned vegetables, spices, and water or broth simmered together for a quick soup |
|
Pasta Salad |
Whole wheat pasta with canned chicken, frozen vegetables, olive oil, and seasoning |
|
Stir-Fry Style Bowls |
Frozen meat or poultry sautéed in oil with frozen vegetables and spices, served over brown rice |
|
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce |
Whole wheat spaghetti topped with a hearty meat sauce made from canned tomatoes, frozen meat, olive oil, and seasonings |
Community Resources
If you or your family need support accessing food, many of the items listed above are available through local food pantries in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, including Corner Health Center’s free Corner Store and Food Pantry.
With donations from Food Gatherers, the Corner Store offers canned goods, frozen meat, dairy, eggs, and fresh produce. Corner Health patients can access the store on Mondays and Fridays with appointments. Anyone can access the store on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays, including community members ages 12 to 25 who are not patients.
Other community resources include:
- Farm at Trinity Health of Ann Arbor has a food pantry stocked with non-perishables on-site open Wednesdays 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. April 9th through December 17th and is open every other Wednesday 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. January 7th through April 1st. Reach out to thefarm@trinity-health.org if you have additional questions.
- Hope Clinic has a food pantry that community members can shop at once per month with an appointment and expect to leave with 5-8 bags of food, including bread, produce, meat and dairy. To make your grocery appointment, call (734) 484-2989 weekdays, 9 AM – 5 PM.
- Packard Health has food pantries at both their Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti locations and allows community members, ages 18 and older, to shop at one pantry location each week. Please call 734-971-1073 before you visit Packard Health food pantries to confirm that they are open on that day.
To find other local food resources, Food Gatherers offers a “Find Food Map” that can be accessed here: https://www.foodgatherers.org/foodresources/
To stay up to date on all things related to The Corner Health Center, visit www.cornerhealth.org, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok (@CornerHealthCenter).
