Nicole Scott knows what it’s like to be a single parent struggling to pay bills and trying to keep her family healthy with nutritious foods and quality health care.
So she started a food pantry called Free N Deed in Dolton. But healthy food isn’t all her clients need, so she teamed up with the American Heart Association to operate a free blood pressure kiosk on site. The grand opening was Aug. 29.
Many of the pantry clients are already making good use of the blood pressure machine.
“People are excited it’s there and they look forward to coming to the pantry because they know they can come and say, ‘Let me see what my blood pressure is,’” Scott said. “We want to mirror a grocery store as best as possible.
“We already have health care providers there and what a way to really drive home our hope of marrying eating healthy with overall physical health.”
Scott founded and oversees the American Association of Single Parents and in addition to the pantry also has fostered partnerships with TCA Health, JenCare Senior Medical Center and Zing Health in Chicago. Each sends providers weekly to assist clients at Free N Deed.
A health and nutrition center, which Scott calls an extension of the pantry, offers health and nutrition workshops, training on monitoring blood sugar, CPR workshops and advice on how to eat to lower blood pressure and help with other diseases. There also are cooking demonstrations and recipe cards.
Plans also are in the works to open a thrift shop.
“We want to eliminate the excuse that it costs too much to eat healthy,” Scott said.
American Heart Association staff said they were impressed with Scott’s efforts and are happy to help.
“The great thing about the kiosk is we pair it with a soft referral — essentially a postcard placed next to the kiosk that identifies clinical partners we have worked with in the area,” said Mya Gamble, a Chicago Community Impact director with the American Heart Association.
“One of our most robust programs is around chronic diseases—hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol. We try to assist with those gaps in access to care, being able to educate, being a little more proactive than reactive,” she said.
Gamble, who was at the ribbon cutting with other American Heart Association representatives, said she liked that Scott’s organization offered a variety of social services.
“I’d love to say a one stop shop kind of thing, there are a lot of opportunities for people to get assistance and that’s great,” Gamble said.
Pageant winner Rhiannon Graham, who represents Springfield as Miss Capital City in the Miss Illinois pageant, has partnered with Scott’s American Association of Single Parents for more than a year as part of her service initiatives.
“The health and nutrition center will serve as a lifesaving resource for families in Illinois,” Graham said. “Growing up in a single parent household since age 4, I wished we would’ve had resources like this when my mother was struggling to put meals on the table for us.
“I’m ecstatic that single families will have this resource to not only put dinner on the table but have healthy options through the partnership with the American Heart Association.”
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
