Dietary Restrictions and Nutrition
Eating well doesn't have to mean buying expensive ingredients, following a complicated diet, or making every meal from scratch. These resources can help with meal planning, stretching a grocery budget, basic nutrition, food safety, cooking, and finding foods that work for specific dietary or medical needs.
Free Nutrition Education
Penn State Extension — Nutrition Links
Free nutrition education • Budget-friendly meals • Cooking • Food safety
The Nutrition Links program offers free nutrition education programs to participants eligible for public assistance to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve a healthful diet on a limited budget.
Classes may be offered virtually or in person.Nutrition Links is available to eligible families with children under 19, pregnant people, pregnant or parenting teens, and school-age youth.
Call: 1-888-778-3535
Email:NutritionLinks@psu.edu
Learn more:
https://extension.psu.edu/nutrition-links
Nutrition Education and Garden Lessons - Montgomery County Office of Public Health
Provides Nutrition and Garden Lessons for all ages to schools, organizations and community members throughout Montgomery County. All programs are FREE.
Food Allergies & Special Dietary Needs
Garden of Health Inc is a Montgomery County nonprofit working specifically to improve access to safe food for people with dietary restrictions. The organization serves Montgomery and Bucks Counties and distributes special-diet foods and fresh produce through partner food pantries and community organizations. This can be especially helpful for households looking for foods that accommodate dietary restrictions.
Education!
FARE — Food Allergy Research & Education
For people living with food allergies, FARE provides education about:
Understanding food allergies
Reading ingredient labels
Avoiding allergens
Eating at restaurants
School and childcare
Traveling with food allergies
Recognizing allergic reactions
Emergency preparedness
Celiac Disease & Gluten-Free Eating
The Celiac Disease Foundation provides information about understanding Celiac Disease, symptoms, testing & diagnosing, related conditions and mental health, and many more resources!
Symptoms Assessment Tool: to see if you have an increased risk for Celiac Disease
Label Reading: How to tell if a packaged food product is Gluten-Free
Jefferson Health is recognized by the Society for the Study of Celiac Disease as a center that has demonstrated a commitment to delivering quality celiac disease diagnosis and treatment.
1101 Chestnut Street, 8th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Diabetes & Prediabetes
Nutrition can be an important part of managing diabetes, but eating with diabetes doesn't require purchasing "diabetic foods" or completely eliminating carbohydrates.
The American Diabetes Association provides information about:
Meal planning
Carbohydrates
Reading nutrition labels
Grocery shopping
Recipes
Eating out
Diabetes-friendly eating patterns
American Diabetes Association — Food & Nutrition:
https://diabetes.org/food-nutrition
For individualized advice — especially if you take insulin or medications that can cause low blood sugar — talk with your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian.
Kidney Disease
Kidney nutrition can get complicated because dietary recommendations can change depending on the type and stage of kidney disease, medications, dialysis, and your lab results.
The National Kidney Foundation provides information about:
Sodium
Potassium
Phosphorus
Protein
Fluids
Reading food labels
Kidney-friendly recipes
National Kidney Foundation — Nutrition:
https://www.kidney.org/kidney-topics/nutrition-and-kidney-disease-stages-1-5-not-dialysis
If you have kidney disease, it's especially important to get individualized advice before making major dietary restrictions.
Medically Tailored Nutrition & Serious Illness
MANNA
MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance) serves people living with serious illnesses throughout the Greater Philadelphia region, including Montgomery County.
MANNA provides medically tailored meals as well as nutrition education and counseling. Its services are designed for people whose medical conditions make nutrition an important part of their treatment.
Phone: 215-496-2662
Website:
https://mannapa.org/