14 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | JUNE 2018 Veg Love Diana Gregory shares produce tips: STORE POTATOES with an apple to keep them from sprouting. Your potatoes will last longer. WATERMELON JUICE is refreshing on a hot day, keeps the heart healthy and is easy to juice. Just slice a cold watermelon and remove the rind and seeds. Put a small amount of water in a blender to cover the bottom and add the watermelon slices. Puree for 60 seconds, depending on the number of slices, then drink and enjoy. GINGER is filled with antioxidants and boosts the immune system, but it can quickly dry out. To preserve fresh ginger, peel off the skin, cut in small pieces and freeze until needed. It lasts frozen for at least three months. PUT OFF BY THE TEXTURE OF RAW KALE? Give it a rubdown! When you massage kale, it breaks down the toughness and releases a sweetness in the leaves. After removing the leafy kale from the stem, place the leaves in a large bowl and top with a little olive oil. Gently knead the leaves for a couple of minutes until the texture is soft.

JUNE 2018 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA 15 could attack multiple problems. Today, Diana Gregory Outreach Services runs several programs that work together to eliminate health disparities in under-resourced communities. Her flagship “Nourishing Seniors” program delivers fresh, quality produce to older adults in independent senior residences and care facilities. By setting up farmers markets where they live, Gregory provides opportunities for seniors to make their own food selections while eliminating barriers such as transportation or navigating bad weather. “There’s a sense of pride about being able to shop for yourself, being independent,” Gregory said. In addition to the produce, the seniors receive wellness information, health screenings and take healthy cooking classes. “We try to have her here monthly, usually the first or second week of the month, because our residents are on a very modest income and that’s when they usually have money to get their produce,” said Angela Banks, service coordinator at Tanner Terrace apartments, which provides affordable housing for seniors. “The residents love it.” Banks says it’s easy for residents to come downstairs to shop, but she noticed something remarkable that came along with these trips. “They started socializing and building unity with that, so we started introducing nutrition classes. From there, we expanded into voter registration and building advocacy behind their nutrition,” she said. “I’ve seen our people improving their health,” said Lou Woody, a Tanner Terrace resident. Woody used to own a restaurant but found herself cooking less and less over the years. Thanks to Gregory’s Fresh Market, she’s cooking again. “I buy a lot of vegetables. I buy their tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli. I’ll use it to have fresh vegetables or I make soup,” she said. “It’s really improved my health and nutrition.” That’s music to Angela Banks’s ears. “If you can cook, cook! We don’t want you to just get Meals on Wheels and have these services disable you,” she said. Gregory’s Fresh Market also runs “Veggies for Veterans,” which targets Maricopa County veterans living in poverty. “A lot of veterans, especially homeless veterans, have diabetes and hypertension,” Gregory said. She is attempting to combat that with fruits, vegetables and nutrition information. At the Veteran’s Administration event, Willy Jones, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, selects cabbage, celery, tomatoes, onions, grapes, strawberries, apples and bananas. “It’s good for you! My wife is gonna cook the cabbage up,” he said. “This is a nice program. It helps the veterans out and gives something back.” Another program Gregory’s Fresh Market offers is “Nourishing Grandkids,” an intergenerational project that supports grandparents who are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren. In Maricopa County, this growing population consists of nearly 9,000 seniors over 65 who are caring for one of more grandchildren — many on a permanent basis. Children are an important part of this program and are encouraged to participate in all of the activities. “The kids get so involved that they wanted to start doing the cooking. So we got them all little aprons,” Gregory said. “We saw an opportunity while they’re there with ❝ ❝ We saw an opportunity while they’re there with their grandparents to teach them life skills. — Diana Gregory, on the Nourishing Grandkids program COVER STORY CONTINUED