Good cooking, free food and a blood pressure cuff
Getting blood pressure taken has never been so delicious — deliciously healthy, that is.
The Falmouth Service Center on Gifford Street has a new program that aims to help people with high blood pressure and diabetes get healthy by offering weekly check-ins with a public health nurse, along with a sampling of a nutritious food cooked on site and a free bag of fruits and vegetables.
On Thursday, Dave Hearne handed out samples of a skillet frittata seasoned with onions, while a few feet away nurses Linda Iafrate and Cynthia Dyer took people’s blood pressure and tested their blood sugar levels.
About 94 people — including regular food pantry clients as well as people from the community — are taking part in the pilot project funded by a $50,000 grant from Cape Cod Healthcare’s community benefits program, said Kerin Delaney, assistant director of the Falmouth Service Center.
The service center is partnering on the pilot with the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, the Barnstable County Public Health Nurse program and the Community Health Center of Cape Cod in Mashpee, which is creating a spreadsheet that will show how clients’ health markers have fared during the course of the program, Falmouth Service Center Executive Director Brenda Swain said. Participation in the program is voluntary and confidential.
