Inside Northside January-February 2023

PLANTING THE SEEDS FOR A HEALTHIER NORTHSHORE

Community-based group seeks to improve local population health measures

In April, Healthier Northshore volunteers helped plant a community garden on the Safe Haven campus in Mandeville. A cooking demonstration followed in October, showing how to use the harvest.

(Photo by Tim San Fillippo / STHS)

Two years after local leaders founded the Healthier Northshore coalition to plant the seeds for improved population health metrics across St. Tammany and Washington parishes, those efforts are bearing fruit.

And vegetables.

In April, volunteers with the communitybased organization – which was started by more than 50 of the Northshore’s leaders in the healthcare, government and nonprofit sectors – pulled on their gardening gloves to plant a community garden at the Safe Haven behavioral health campus in Mandeville.

Then, in October – after giving the garden a little time to grow – the group followed up with a free cooking demonstration in which Chef Dave Solazzo of Del Porto Ristorante in Covington showed a standing-room-only crowd exactly what to do with the harvest.

It was the first of what is envisioned as a series of free cooking demonstrations from local chefs designed to promote healthier food choices by incorporating fresh vegetables from local gardens.

Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman, a driving force behind the Healthier Northshore coalition, is pictured in April at a community garden installation in Mandeville.

(Photo by Tim San Fillippo / STHS)

It’s also perfectly aligned with the group’s overall mission of addressing behavioral health, smoking/vaping cessation, nutrition and exercise, as well as increasing community screening opportunities.

“Nutrition and access to healthy food choices are the hallmarks of Healthier Northshore,” said Anne Pablovich of St. Tammany Health System, one of the local organizations united under the Healthier Northshore banner. “At the same time, Chef Dave is known for his use of fresh, local vegetables. So, this cooking demo is really a match made in culinary heaven.”

Working in the newly completed classroom kitchen at the Samaritan Center in Mandeville, Solazzo whipped up his Gulf Shrimp with Ratatouille – but, as NAMI St. Tammany Executive Director Nick Richard pointed out, the food is just the tip of the iceberg.

“This community garden is more than just access to healthy, fresh produce,” Richard said. ”It provides for the physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs of the Safe Haven community.”

It’s only the latest example of Healthier Northshore’s efforts to engage with local residents in the interest of improving local health metrics. That includes regular participation at local gatherings, from festivals to health fairs, often alongside the Be Well Bus, St. Tammany Health System’s 40-foot mobile health unit.

St. Tammany Health System President and CEO Joan Coffman, one of the driving forces behind the founding of Healthier Northshore, said the garden project and subsequent cooking demo illustrates precisely why the initiative was founded.

“Healthier Northshore was really envisioned to be that community resource to advance the quality of life for area residents,” she said. “This is a perfect example of that.”

Chef Dave Solazzo of Del Porto Ristorante in Covington shared his recipe for Shrimp Ratatouille during a free cooking demonstration held by the Healthier Northshore coalition.

(Photo by Tory Mansfield / STHS)

Chef Dave’s Gulf Shrimp Ratatouille

Yields: 6-8 Servings

1 pound Gulf Shrimp

1 large Eggplant

2 Zucchini

2 Summer Squash

2 Vine-Ripe Tomatoes

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Yellow Bell Pepper

Olive Oil

Salt to Taste

Pepper to Taste

1/2 Cup Peeled Garlic Cloves

2 Bunches Fresh Basil (or 1 1/2 Tablespoon Dried)

1 Bunch Fresh Oregano (or 1 1/2 Tablespoon Dried)

1 Bunch flat-Leaf Parsley (or 1 1/2 Tablespoon Dried)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. While the oven is heating, coarsely chop garlic and set aside. Cut zucchini, squash, bell peppers and eggplant into roughly bitesized pieces. Separately, dice tomatoes.

3. Drizzle two 9x11-inch baking dishes with 1-2 tablespoons each of olive oil. Divide diced tomatoes between both dishes, season lightly with some of the salt, pepper and herbs, then put filled dishes in the preheated oven.

4. On stovetop, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a skillet over high heat. When olive oil begins to smoke, add just enough zucchini, squash, bell pepper and eggplant to cover the bottom of the pan, and sauté until vegetables begin to brown. Add about a tablespoon of garlic and a sprinkling of basil, oregano and parsley. Sauté briefly, about 30 seconds, until garlic releases its aroma. (Be careful not to burn garlic.)

5. Add sautéed vegetables to baking dishes with tomatoes, and return to the oven. Sauté remaining vegetables in batches as described above, dividing each batch between baking dishes when done. Once all vegetables have been added to baking dishes, continue baking for 15 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, sauté the shrimp in a skillet, seasoning to taste.

7. Remove baking dishes from the oven and gently mix tomatoes and vegetables, adding seasoning to desired taste.

8. Serve with a portion of shrimp on top.

Enjoy!

Learn more about Healthier Northshore at HealthierNorthshore.health