
Author: Timothy Barre

Eating Healthy In The Summer
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Introducing our NEW Volunteer Connection!
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Spring Worksite Wellness Activities
![]() Happy Spring! This spring feels particularly hard earned. Fortunately, there are several activities coming up that will get us outside. Here are just a few suggestions:
Spring Worksite Wellness Activities ~ Ashwinee Kulkarni, MPH The warm weather has finally arrived! Spring is a great time to get started with a worksite wellness program or re-energize an existing one. Check out the Health Department’s Worksite Wellness Page for tips and resources on how to get started or to get new ideas. We also have new section with resources specific to several different occupations. Here are five worksite wellness activities that you can try this summer to promote healthy eating and an active lifestyle:
Unraveling the Mystery of the Farmer’s Market ~Rebecca O’Reilly, MS, RD As the weather begins to warm and the landscape begins to green, our thoughts inevitably turn toward spring and summer and taking in all that these seasons have to offer. For me (and I don’t think I’m alone here), food is among the greatest assets that warm weather brings. Fresh produce is available, the grill is fired up, and I am more than happy to set aside my arsenal of warm winter favorites to embrace the cool flavors of summer. Along with great flavor, comes opportunity for great nutrition. Fruits and vegetables that are picked fresh not only taste better, but they pack more key nutrients than those that have been trucked from thousands of miles away. Community farmer’s markets are a great place to support local growers while taking advantage of fresh, flavorful, nutritious fruits and vegetables. For many of the consumers we see in our daily work, farmer’s markets are a new concept and shopping at one may not be entirely comfortable prospect. Do you remember the last time you tried out a new market? Every time I’m in an unfamiliar shopping environment, I am so overwhelmed by finding what I need and learning the norms of the new space, I forget to buy half of the items on my list (once again, I don’t think I’m alone here). The good news is, we can help make the new experience more enjoyable for individuals and families. Here are some helpful tips and resources for successfully navigating the farmer’s market and getting the most out of a tight food budget. |

The New and Improved FamilyWize Medicine Cabinet!
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April Is National Stress Awareness Month
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The 26th Annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive is on Saturday, May 12.
Letter carriers’ 26th annual food drive set for Sat., May 12 throughout nation
WASHINGTON – The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will conduct its 26th annual national food drive on Saturday, May 12. The Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive, the country’s largest single-day food drive, provides residents with an easy way to donate food to those in need in the community.
Customers simply leave their donation of non-perishable goods next to their mailbox before the delivery of the mail on Saturday, May 12. Letter carriers will collect these food donations on that day as they deliver mail along their postal routes and distribute them to local food agencies. Visit www.nalc.org/food to learn more.
The Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is the nation’s largest single-day food drive and is held annually on the second Saturday in May in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.
With the economic struggles many Americans face, the Letter Carriers’ Food Drive is as critical as ever. Not only do millions of Americans go hungry, organizations that help them are in need of replenishments.
Hunger affects about 50 million people around the country, including millions of children, senior citizens and veterans. Pantry shelves filled up through winter-holiday generosity often are bare by late spring. And, with most school meal programs suspended during summer months, millions of children must find alternate sources of nutrition.
Letter carriers see these struggles in the communities they serve, and they believe it’s important to do what they can to help.
On Saturday, May 12, as they deliver mail, the nation’s 175,000 letter carriers will collect donations left by residents near their mailboxes. People are encouraged to leave a sturdy bag—paper or plastic—containing non-perishable foods, such as canned soup, canned vegetables, canned meats and fish, pasta, peanut butter, rice or cereal, next to their mailbox before the regular mail delivery on that Saturday.
Letter carriers will take that food to local food banks, pantries or shelters. Several national partners are assisting the NALC in the food drive: the U.S. Postal Service, the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA), the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), Valpak, United Way Worldwide, the AFL-CIO, the AARP Foundation and Valassis.
This year’s effort includes a public service announcement with award-winning actor and director Edward James Olmos. Television networks and stations can use this link to find and download high-quality versions of the PSA, in English and Spanish.
Since the first national Food Drive in 1993, the Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive has collected more than 1.5 billion pounds of food; last year’s drive brought in a record 80 million pounds of food.
People who have questions about the drive in their area should ask their letter carrier, contact their local post office, or go to nalc.org/food, facebook.com/StampOutHunger or twitter.com/StampOutHunger.
The 280,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers represents letter carriers across the country employed by the U.S. Postal Service, along with retired letter carriers. Founded by Civil War veterans in 1889, the NALC is among the country’s oldest labor unions.
This poster can be downloaded from HERE

Vermont Kids Day
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March is National Nutrition Month®
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New Financial Coaching Class, United Way Day at the Wayside, and More!
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