Healthy Bites

Eat Lunch for Brunswick County Homeless

By Betsy Duarte

Board Member, Brunswick County Homeless Coalition

For the past eight years, the Brunswick County Homeless Coalition (BCHC) has held a hunger and homeless soup luncheon during the National Hunger and Homeless Week. It’s a chance to raise awareness about hunger and homelessness in America and in Brunswick County. This year, the luncheon will be take-out. On Nov. 21, volunteers from BCHC and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of Holden Beach will come together to offer “Soup-to-Go.” This curbside take-out features a homemade soup lunch with roll or bread and homemade cookies. It will be offered at the Brunswick Center at Supply parking lot from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Participants will fill out a form requesting the soup they want and their name. A volunteer takes the form while another volunteer brings out their bag lunch in exchange for a donation. BCHC is following all CDC guidelines: wearing masks, gloves, social distancing, sanitizing frequently used surfaces, and washing hands often and well.

Homelessness is One Event Away

There’s a common misconception that people become homeless as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, making poor choices, and mismanaging money. While these factors can contribute to homelessness, none of them are solely responsible for it. Many people are just one event away from a housing crisis. And these events may be beyond one’s control, such as natural disasters like hurricanes or floods, or discovering harmful mold. People might suffer an unexpected illness or injury, or they may help an ailing, elderly parent, and then wind up displaced after the loved one dies.

Clark, a man in his mid-seventies, lived in the same apartment on the same street for 20 years. After a lengthy hospitalization for COPD, he found himself homeless. He didn’t meet the criteria for assisted living and he was out on the street. BCHC was able to put him up in a motel for a few days while he looked for something long-term.

2020 Has Increased Homelessness

COVID-19 has dramatically changed housing reality. Rental housing is virtually non-existent right now in Brunswick County. Many full-time and part-time jobs have disappeared due to businesses closing or only being able to operate at partial capacity. Many of them will close permanently during this time.

“Homelessness rarely affects one person; It impacts the whole family.” says Rita Canfield, BCHC board member. “The coalition’s goal is to keep people in safe, stable, permanent housing where possible, or to help them find it if necessary,” Canfield says. A donation to BCHC may provide someone with a motel room for a night, pay a utility bill, or even fill up someone’s car with gas so they can get to a job or a job interview.

How to Help

BCHC, a private nonprofit, and its staff of volunteers are contacted by families through calling 888-519-5362.

You can help by buying a bowl of soup on Nov. 21. For more information, contact Betsy Duarte at (530) 908-0338 or Betsyduarte182@gmail.com, or John Callahan (703)927-5830 or jvc3@verizon.net.

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office is warning about current scams in our area. Unfortunately, scams are a constant issue most everywhere.

Two scams that have been reported recently are the Grandparents scam and the Publishers Clearing House scam. In both scams, the caller asks the victim to send money.

Always be wary of anyone asking for money or personal information over the phone or internet. It is almost always some sort of scam. And a good rule of thumb is: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Who wouldn’t love to be that winner you see on TV holding a great big sweepstakes check? That’s what con artists are counting on when they claim to be Publishers Clearing House.

The scam starts with a call or letter saying you’ve won the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. But to collect your prize, they say, you need to send money to pay for fees and taxes. Typically you’ll be asked to send money by Western Union or MoneyGram, or by getting a reloadable card or gift card. Scammers ask you to pay these ways because it’s nearly impossible to trace the money.

Some scammers will send you a realistic-looking fake check in the mail. You’re told that, to claim your prize, you need to deposit the check

and send some of the money back for expenses. But when the check you deposit bounces—even after it seemed to clear—you may be on the hook for the money you sent.

Never send money to collect a prize, sweepstakes check, or lottery winnings. If you have to pay, it’s a scam.

Never deposit a check and send back money, even if the funds appear in your account. That’s a sure sign of a scam.

The real Publishers Clearing House says it will never ask you to pay a fee to collect a prize.

―Grandma, I’m in the hospital, sick, please wire money right away.‖ ―Grandpa, I’m stuck overseas, please send money.‖

In grandparent scams, scammers pose as panicked grandchildren in trouble, calling or sending messages urging you to wire money immediately. They’ll say they need cash to help with an emergency, like paying a hospital bill or needing to leave a foreign country. They pull at

your heartstrings so they can trick you into sending money before you realize it’s a scam.

If someone calls or sends a message claiming to be a grandchild desperate for money:

Resist the urge to act immediately. Check the story out, even if they tell you to keep it a secret.

Verify the caller’s identity. Ask questions that a stranger couldn’t possibly answer. Call a phone number for your family member or friend that you know to be genuine.

Don’t send cash, gift cards, or money transfers – once the scammer gets the money, it’s gone!

Please share scam information with older friends and neighbors. Unfortunately seniors are the most vulnerable and at risk.

If you have been contacted by a possible scammer, let the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office know at (910) 253-2777.

You Are What You Eat

Choosing Foods for National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month

By Joan Leotta

There is much truth in the saying, “You are what you eat.” Dietary choices affect our health, including mental acuity. While we can’t turn back time, we can stave off the effects of age on our mental abilities. We can choose foods that build neural relationships and avoid foods that accelerate mental deterioration.

Avoid foods high in sugar and anything processed. This does not mean you can never eat candy or pasta (carbs metabolize as sugar) or use a cake mix again. Just cut back.

Any food that boosts the immune system is helpful in the quest for longevity. Eating Well magazine lists four foods of great value in building the immune system: yogurt, shitake mushrooms, guava, and salmon (wild caught is best).

Fiber is also important to keep your internal system running well, and beans and lentils are great additions in that category.

Healthline recommends eating these ten foods (not all at once!) to keep your body young: blueberries, watercress, papaya, red bell pepper, nuts, broccoli, spinach, avocado, pomegranate seeds, and sweet potatoes. Certain health conditions and medications may mandate eliminating one or more of these goodies from your personal list.

The Healthline article lists why each of these foods is helpful in holding back Father Time and points out how each supports the body’s gut, skin, brain, or muscle health.

WHAT YOU EAT, connued on page 18

Stuffed Red Peppers for Two By Joan Leotta

1 large red bell pepper 1 cup cooked lentils (I like green lentils) 1 cup shredded baby spinach leaves 5 ounces shitake mushrooms 2 Tbsp. grated Romano cheese 1 slice (thin) Italian bread 1 egg 2 Tbsp. Italian parsley, chopped 1 Tbsp. olive oil 6 to 8 ounces tomato sauce Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350˚ (toaster oven is fine).

Cook the lentils.

Cut the pepper in half lengthwise, take out the stem and seeds, turn open side down and microwave in a Tablespoon or so of water for one minute, thirty seconds to soften the pepper a bit.

Sauté the mushrooms and spinach in olive oil, add the Romano cheese and lentils, and let cool.

Tear the bread into small pieces and add it.

Add the egg, parsley, salt, and pepper, and stir.

Take peppers out of microwave. Drain the liquid. Spray the pan and return pepper halves to pan cup side up. Fill each half of the pepper, and top with sauce.

Cook for 25 minutes.