Prairie Five Community Action Council, Inc.

Transcription

1 Prairie Five Community Action Council, Inc. Working Together to Strengthen the Quality of Life in our Communities Spring Newsletter 2018 Main Office Montevideo: Outreach Offices Benson: Canby: Madison: Ortonville: Website: Find us on Facebook! DID YOU KNOW Prairie Five provided over 500 families with a Holiday Food Basket in Prairie Five RIDES provides on average 15,000 RIDES per month! The Prairie Five Energy Assistance Program is still accepting applications for this year. Check out the income guidelines on the last page. The Huggy Heart is a symbol of community action. How many can you find in this newsletter? The March Food Drive is going on in the Prairie Five food shelves. Donate today to your local food shelf & help us reach our 2018 goals. Chippewa County food shelf - PO Box Montevideo Big Stone County food shelf nd St NW - Ortonville Canby Area food shelf St Olaf Ave N - Canby Swift County food shelf - PO Box Benson March is National Nutrition Month. The campaign focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. No one food group can supply all the nutrients a body needs. Eating a variety of foods from several of the food groups to meet your nutritional needs each day is important. Prairie Five Senior Nutrition promotes healthy and independent living through improved nutrition and reduction of social isolation. Congregate, home delivered and frozen meals are available seven days a week throughout each county. Our menus are approved by a licensed dietician. Let us assist you with your nutritional needs! Well balanced meals make a terrific gift! Please call to reserve your meal. It s more than just a meal! Prairie Five CAC, Inc. 719 North 7th Street, Suite 302 P.O. Box 159 Montevideo, MN 56265

2 CAREGIVER CORNER Helping Those Who Are Grieving We often feel uncomfortable when approaching someone we know who is grieving. It is hard to know what to say or do. Here are some tips: Be available. Offer support in an unobtrusive but persistent manner. Listen without giving advice. Do not offer stories of your own experiences with grief. This can have the effect of dismissing the grieving person's pain. Allow the grieving person to use expressions of anger or bitterness, including such expressions against God. This may be normal behavior in an attempt to find meaning in what has happened. Realize that no one can replace or undo the loss. To heal, the individual must endure the grief process. Allow him/her to feel the pain. Be patient, kind, and understanding without being patronizing. Don't claim to "know" what the other person is feeling. Don't force the individual to share feelings if he/she doesn't want to. Physical and emotional touch can bring great comfort to the bereaved. Don't hesitate to share a hug or handclasp when appropriate. Be there later, when friends and family have all gone back to their routines. Remember holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries that have important meaning for the bereaved. Offer support during this time. Don't be afraid of reminding the person of the loss; he/she is already thinking about it. Share stories and memories of the deceased. Resource: Family Caregiver Alliance, 2013 Caregiver Support Groups Montevideo Caregiver Support Group - First Friday of each month at 9am at Copper Glen. (Group will not meet June - August) Milan Caregiver Support Group - Third Thursday of each month at 1 pm at Milan City Hall. (Group will not meet May - July) Benson Memory Café - Second Monday of each month at 1 pm at the Benson Public Library. Please call with any questions regarding the caregiver groups. Spring Cleaning 101 Spring cleaning is a chance to improve health and safety! It is about more than throwing open some windows and letting the fresh air in. It s about evaluating your home and life with fresh eyes. It s also about making sure that the living area is as safe as possible. Follow these tips this Spring: Make sure walkways are clear and clean Clean out and organize the medicine cabinet Check the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors Replace light bulbs Eliminate tripping hazards VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT Darlene has been volunteering at the Big Stone County Food Shelf since May She is always willing to cover extra shifts and help out when needed. Her favorite thing about volunteering is talking to people and her favorite thing about Prairie Five is the RIDES program. Darlene s Reasons WHY you should Volunteer: 1. It gets you out of the house 2. Meet new people 3. See all the different foods that come into the food shelf 4. Talk to people Thank you Darlene, and all of our volunteers, for your work and dedication to Prairie Five! Do you want to volunteer in your community? Call Prairie Five today!

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4 SWIFT COUNTY NAPS DISTRIBUTION / SENIOR DAY The Swift County Outreach Office distributes 57 commodity food boxes once a month to adults 60+ in Swift County along with a bag of fresh produce and a block of cheese. This monthly program is free to qualifying seniors and is delivered on the 3rd Tuesday of each month to the Swift County Outreach Office. The Nutrition Assistance Program for Seniors (NAPS) is also available in Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Big Stone, and Yellow Medicine Counties. For more information please call your local Prairie Five office. If you received a newsletter by mistake due to an address error, or no longer want to receive the newsletter, please contact Elizabeth Koehl at Prairie Five. Phone: elizabeth.koehl@prairiefive.org

5 The earliest known use of the term spring-cleaning The spring and autumn equinoxes are the only days when the sun rises directly due east and sets due west in the northern hemisphere. Commonly we think of March, April and May as the spring months, but astronomically, spring officially begins on the spring equinox. We have used the word spring for the season since the 16th century. Before that it was used for centuries to apply to the source of a river. Before we called it spring this season was known as Lent or Lenten. 7 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MINNESOTA 1. Minnesota has over 90,000 miles of shoreline, more than California, Florida and Hawaii combined. 2. Minneapolis has more golfers per capita than any other city in the country. 3. Southdale Mall in Edina was the first enclosed climate-controlled mall in America. 4. The Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is the largest urban sculpture garden in the country. 5. Minnesota has one recreational boat per every six people, more than any other state. 6. Minneapolis skyway system connects 69 blocks (nearly 11 miles) of buildings downtown. 7. The Metrodome in Minneapolis (now the site of US Bank Field) was the only sports facility in the country to host a Super Bowl, a World Series, MLB All-Star game and a NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship. Perfect Blueberry Muffin Mug Cake Prep time Cook time Total time Serves 3 mins 2 mins 5 mins 1 Ingredients ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon flour ¼ teaspoon baking powder Pinch of salt 2 tablespoons sugar ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ cup whole milk 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon melted butter, cooled ¼ cup fresh blueberries cinnamon sugar, to serve Instructions Extra flour for blueberries -In a mixing bowl, sift in flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon. White until combined. -In another mixing bowl, mix in milk and melted butter. -Pour wet mixture into dry and whisk until blended -Coat blueberries with flour and fold in blueberries. -Transfer into a microwavable mug and zap it in the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes, or until done. Let cool for about 20 minutes and serve. Container gardening is perfect for small spaces. All you need is a small space, a few pots, plants, and a little bit of sunshine! Tip # 1 Choose a big container with a few good drainage holes to allow excess water to drain Tip # 3 When selecting plants, put plants together based on the sun condition they need Tip # 5 Add fertilizer to your containers. Your plants will thrive with extra plant food Tip # 2 Fill your container with quality potting soil Tip # 4 Water the container every time it feels dry to the touch Tip # 6 If you do not have a big pot, a 5-gallon bucket can also be used How many Huggy Hearts did you find in the Spring newsletter? Answer: 11 Huggy Hearts