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Community Corner

Local Food Pantry Goes Digital

St. John's Bread and Life Offers Healthy Food Choices in a Digital World

Shoppers stand in a queue, card in hand, ready to pay for their groceries. With a few quick taps on the touch-screen monitor and a swipe, they walk away with bags of food.

But this is no ordinary checkout counter: St. John's Bread and Life in Bedford-Stuyvesant is the largest soup kitchen in Brooklyn, and it has gone high-tech with the launch of its Digital Choice Food Pantry (DCFP).

The DCFP is a database of food in the pantry that clients can access through a swipe of their St. John's Bread and Life card. Even better, clients with health problems such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity will see extra food options on their menu that cater to their needs.

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"Diet can change over time and we're trying to impact that," said Anthony Butler, executive director at the food pantry. "It's important to give people a choice."

In Central Brooklyn, the department of health reports one in five adults consider themselves to be in poor or fair health. A ten thousand-dollar grant from the Aetna Foundation enabled the food pantry to use the DCFP system to modify their menus in a way that takes into consideration those with health concerns.

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A certified nutritionist and a health educator together counsel clients on their health disadvantages and then educate them on options that will compensate their family's needs.

To access the DCFP, clients swipe their identification cards like they would a credit card to a food pyramid that assists the market experience. Clients with needs then will see health-labeled foods, alongside food already in the pantry among their options.

For Mary Hall, 44, having that option is a delight. Although cooking became increasingly harder for her since she moved into a homeless shelter, she regularly partakes in the soup kitchen.

"Coming here is a god-send," said Hall regarding the new menu options. The menu may not be gourmet – turkey franks and beans, for example, graced one menu. Still, "This is like eating a steak compared to eating at the shelter," she said.

Hall was accompanied by a slew of people on an economic-forced break, a noticeable increase compared to the past years.

Nelson Cruz, 40, was laid off recently. He said he preferred to eat at the soup kitchen to save the food at home for his kids. "It's not just for homeless people anymore. It's for working families."

"Poverty crushes hope," said Butler. "By providing choice, the dignified way of doing things, it gives people the hope they can do more."

The Digital Food Pantry is open, from 9:00 am – 11:30 am; Thursdays 9:00 am – 10:30 am, and Fridays 9:00 am – 11:30 am (seniors only).  The pantry is closed the first Friday of each month.

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