By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A Del Rio citizen recently criticized the meals served through the city nutrition program for the elderly and urged the city council to expand the range of activities offered through the program.
Del Rioan Bea Vallejo, who has over the past year become a fixture at meetings of the Del Rio City Council, made her remarks during the citizen comments portion of the Oct. 24 meeting.
“At the last council meeting, your agenda noted: discussion and possible action on nutrition presentation. Mayor and council, that was disingenuous,” Vallejo began.
“All that go for a free meal at the nutrition center are people that worked most of their lives and have always paid taxes. According to your speaker, free, well-balanced, nutritious meals were being provided for elderly (persons) 60 years and older from Monday through Friday. You put her on the agenda with unlimited time, and me (you only give) three minutes,” Vallejo said, referencing the three-minute time limit imposed on citizens who address the council during the citizen comments portion of the meeting.
Vallejo first dinged the activities offered at the Joe Ramos Center, where the nutrition program is housed.
“Today, I want to share with you a list of items. All they have to do there (at the center) is coloring, pool and loteria, and that is what they do on a daily basis. I have provided you with a wish list to try and encourage those in attendance to engage in some activity, such as looming, jewelry making, cake decorating, floral arrangements, paper flower making and decorating of the place. And please, donate a cake for the monthly birthday celebrations” Vallejo said.
She provided the council members with a list of the possible supplies the city could purchase for the variety of activities she mentioned, including price estimates.
Vallejo next gave her opinion of the meals being offered at the center.
“Today I am here to inform you, mayor and council members, meals served at the nutrition center are delicious, well-balanced meals, but nutritious they are not. It takes approximately 45 minutes to prepare and serve 30-plus meals daily.
“The meals consist of ultra-processed food, fried, canned, heated, chopped, blanched, cooked, mixed or packaged full of trans fats. Their natural state has been altered. These processed foods are very low in essential nutrients. Plus, manufacturers add synthetic vitamins and minerals to replace nutrients lost during processing.
“Most of these highly processed foods are often high in refined carbohydrates, preservatives, artificial coloring, with chemical flavoring. These foods contain added sugar, salt and often high fructose corn syrup. There are no essential nutrients in processed foods, but they are high in calories and contain monosodium glutamate (MSG) as a flavor enhancer and may lead to overstimulation of nerve cells in the brain, resulting in cell death,” Vallejo said.
She continued, “Daily eating of processed foods increases inflammation and raises levels of low-density lipoprotein or ‘bad’ cholesterol and decreases levels of high-density lipoprotein or ‘good’ cholesterol. They also increase the risk of heart diseases, cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disorders, metabolic disorders, strokes and Type 2 diabetes.
“In reality, the nutrition center should be cooking meals at the facility at least three days a week instead of just serving processed foods daily. The body needs dietary fiber or whole foods, such as fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains. It would be more nutritious to provide a whole apple or a banana instead of canned fruits,” Vallejo said.
She also urged staff at the center to interact more with clients.
“How much paperwork is required of the employees? They are bogged down in their offices. How much working time can one waste in providing a general ‘good morning’ and ‘hello’ to all those in attendance? They just need to say hello to the people,” Vallejo finished.
—
Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
NEWS — Citizen criticizes nutrition program meals, activities
By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A Del Rio citizen recently criticized the meals served through the city nutrition program for the elderly and urged the city council to expand the range of activities offered through the program.
Del Rioan Bea Vallejo, who has over the past year become a fixture at meetings of the Del Rio City Council, made her remarks during the citizen comments portion of the Oct. 24 meeting.
“At the last council meeting, your agenda noted: discussion and possible action on nutrition presentation. Mayor and council, that was disingenuous,” Vallejo began.
“All that go for a free meal at the nutrition center are people that worked most of their lives and have always paid taxes. According to your speaker, free, well-balanced, nutritious meals were being provided for elderly (persons) 60 years and older from Monday through Friday. You put her on the agenda with unlimited time, and me (you only give) three minutes,” Vallejo said, referencing the three-minute time limit imposed on citizens who address the council during the citizen comments portion of the meeting.
Vallejo first dinged the activities offered at the Joe Ramos Center, where the nutrition program is housed.
“Today, I want to share with you a list of items. All they have to do there (at the center) is coloring, pool and loteria, and that is what they do on a daily basis. I have provided you with a wish list to try and encourage those in attendance to engage in some activity, such as looming, jewelry making, cake decorating, floral arrangements, paper flower making and decorating of the place. And please, donate a cake for the monthly birthday celebrations” Vallejo said.
She provided the council members with a list of the possible supplies the city could purchase for the variety of activities she mentioned, including price estimates.
Vallejo next gave her opinion of the meals being offered at the center.
“Today I am here to inform you, mayor and council members, meals served at the nutrition center are delicious, well-balanced meals, but nutritious they are not. It takes approximately 45 minutes to prepare and serve 30-plus meals daily.
“The meals consist of ultra-processed food, fried, canned, heated, chopped, blanched, cooked, mixed or packaged full of trans fats. Their natural state has been altered. These processed foods are very low in essential nutrients. Plus, manufacturers add synthetic vitamins and minerals to replace nutrients lost during processing.
“Most of these highly processed foods are often high in refined carbohydrates, preservatives, artificial coloring, with chemical flavoring. These foods contain added sugar, salt and often high fructose corn syrup. There are no essential nutrients in processed foods, but they are high in calories and contain monosodium glutamate (MSG) as a flavor enhancer and may lead to overstimulation of nerve cells in the brain, resulting in cell death,” Vallejo said.
She continued, “Daily eating of processed foods increases inflammation and raises levels of low-density lipoprotein or ‘bad’ cholesterol and decreases levels of high-density lipoprotein or ‘good’ cholesterol. They also increase the risk of heart diseases, cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disorders, metabolic disorders, strokes and Type 2 diabetes.
“In reality, the nutrition center should be cooking meals at the facility at least three days a week instead of just serving processed foods daily. The body needs dietary fiber or whole foods, such as fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains. It would be more nutritious to provide a whole apple or a banana instead of canned fruits,” Vallejo said.
She also urged staff at the center to interact more with clients.
“How much paperwork is required of the employees? They are bogged down in their offices. How much working time can one waste in providing a general ‘good morning’ and ‘hello’ to all those in attendance? They just need to say hello to the people,” Vallejo finished.
—
Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
Brian
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