As of 2015, 8 percent of Hays County’s population had diabetes, according to County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. That number ranks slightly better than the state average of 9 percent, but the Hays County Food Bank would like to see it reduced further. They plan to address that with a new food drive.
From April 1 to May 15, Hays County businesses and organizations are challenged to collect as many health foods (see sidebar) as possible for the Spring Harvest Health Food Drive. At the end of the challenge the food donations will be counted, and the company or organization that donated the most food will win a trophy that it can keep until the following year’s food drive, when it will defend the title.
HCFB Communications Coordinator Mallory Raschke said the drive is as much about education as providing food to those in need. She said she hopes the drive makes it clear to food bank clients that eating well is not a luxury only available to the wealthy.
“We’re basically just trying to educate people,” Raschke said. “You can still get the nutrition—on a budget—that your body needs without having to resort to buying those processed, packaged foods.”
Mario Torres, diabetes educator at Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos, said if those who are prediabetic or have diabetes can change their lifestyle—replacing fatty, sugary, processed foods with healthy, natural ones and staying active—they can reverse their course to the point that diabetes becomes dormant.
Torres, who teaches diabetes management and prevention classes at CTMC and the Live Oak Community Clinic in San Marcos, encourages diabetic and prediabetic patients to eat diets rich in fiber and low in sugar. Vegetables, fruit and whole grains are good staples for any diet, he said.
Torres, who moved to the United States from South America more than 20 years ago, said when he left the continent diabetes was uncommon. Soon after he left, United Kingdom-based fast-food restaurant Wimpy began opening locations in South America. Now diabetes is on the rise.
“It’s because they’re getting more of the Westernized meals and all the fast-food meals,” Torres said. “The same thing is happening here in the U.S. We have all the easy-access meals, and that’s why we have all these people not only with diabetes but also cardiovascular disease.”
To steer its clients to affordable, healthy meal options, the food bank teaches Food Wise classes at the San Marcos Housing Authority-Chapultepec Homes, 701 S. LBJ Drive, San Marcos. Attendees can learn how to cook healthier alternatives to fatty, high-sugar foods.
The classes and the food drive are all part of the organization’s mission, Raschke said.
“We would like to help our clients and help those people with issues that are treatable and preventable,” she said.
For a healthy alternative to traditional enchiladas, the Hays County Food Bank encourages a cauliflower enchiladas. Swapping white rice for cauliflower rice will reduce the number of carbs. The dish is high in fiber and vitamins.
Ingredients
- 1 medium cauliflower 1⁄2 cup corn
- 1 lime 1⁄2 avocado
- 2 tbsp. cilantro 1 red bell pepper
- 1 tsp chili power 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1⁄4 tbsp. garlic powder 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 1⁄2 tsp. salt 1 tomato (diced)
- 1⁄2 cup black beans 1⁄4 cup enchilada sauce
