Season 2, Episode 2: When There Isn’t Enough Food
When There Isn’t Enough Food
By some estimates, one in three adults and one out of every two children are food insecure. Dr. Lauri Wright, chair of the Nutrition and Dietetics Department at the University of North Florida and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, explains how the pandemic is affecting food access — and what we can do about it. Then, Mari Suzuki, author of the cookbook Kitchen Wizard Flexipes, shares how to save time in the kitchen and stretch your grocery budget, too.
MEET OUR GUESTS
Dr. Lauri Wright worked as a clinical dietitian at the Tampa VA Hospital for more than 15 years, specializing in infectious disease. She began and directed the dietetic internship at Bay Pines VA Hospital. After completing her doctorate degree, Dr. Wright directed the master's/dietetic internship program at the University of North Florida. While at UNF, her work with HIV moved to the community and food insecurity. Dr. Wright then joined the faculty of the College of Public Health at University of South Florida as an assistant professor where her research focused on food insecurity and its health impact, HIV nutrition and global nutrition. Dr. Wright is the founding director of the Center for Nutrition and Food Security where she directs two food recovery-meal programs; one for PLWHA (Food Fighters) and the other for homebound seniors (Meals on Wings). Dr. Wright is an Academy Media Spokesperson, Delegate to the Academy House, and a past president of the Florida Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Mari Suzuki is the the international bestselling author of the cookbook Kitchen Wizard Flexipes, and many people call her the KonMari of Cooking. She helps busy moms with young kids to learn how to easily prep a whole week of healthy tasty meals in only two hours so that they can enjoy better overall health and more quality time with their loved ones. Visit her website.
Episode highlights
3:30 – Important definitions
8:10 – Food insecurity statistics
10:57 – What to do if you're food insecure
12:48 – How to stretch your food dollar
14:40 – How you can help
16:54 – Meet Mari Suzuki and learn about flexipes
26:15 – Kitchen Questions
29:00 – Final thoughts
Our favorite quotes from the episode
“Nutrition is a right that we all have.” — Dr. Lauri Wright
“The estimate is now instead of one in five, one out of every two children are experiencing some form of food insecurity.” — Dr. Lauri Wright
“If you are in a position that you can help, one of the things I recommend is donating to the Feeding America in your community, or giving some of your time to the food pantries. That demand on these organizations is great, so if you can spare an afternoon to go in and sort food and hand out bags, it can be done at a social distance, but your time and your money will make all the difference to people in need.” — Dr. Lauri Wright
“Once I started to use this method, the result was phenomenal. I wasn't stressed out in the kitchen anymore. Meal prep was easy and fun. I was able to decide what's for dinner really quickly, and my food tastes better.” — Mari Suzuki
“In a way you're developing a recipe. You may not necessarily publish it to the whole world, but you're not opening a restaurant or anything. You are creating the dish your family would enjoy. It's actually a lot easier than you think. Just make sure that you trust your senses and taste bud and intuition, and then just trust your own experience as a cook or eater because you already know a lot about cooking. You don't necessarily have to follow a recipe when you're busy. And then that makes your life so much easier.” — Mari Suzuki
Show notes and LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
Important Resources:
Feeding America: https://www.feedingamerica.org/
Meals on Wheels: https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/
Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP): https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic
Follow Dr. Lauri Wright:
TWITTER: @DrLauriWrightRD
Follow Mari Suzuki:
FACEBOOK: @kitchenwizardflexipes
TWITTER: @KitchenWizard
INSTAGRAM: @kitchenwizardflexipes
YOUTUBE: Video for Moms