April 2024 Meals on Wheels Menu Highlight

The April 2024 Copper Shores Meals on Wheels menu is here and features some crowd favorites, a bunch of locally grown/caught protein sources and a focus on a couple foods vital to support healthy aging.

“An example of some food items we are intentionally incorporating into our menus on a consistent basis include dark green veggies, red and orange veggies, and beans, peas and lentils,” Community Health Educator Meghan Jaszczak, RD, said. “These types of food are especially important to support healthy aging and are focal points for the recommended dietary pattern for adults 60 years of age and over. These recommendations are set forth in the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which emphasizes the importance of tailoring nutrition needs to support each stage of life an individual experiences.”

Those group of foods can be found throughout the month as sides to some truly incredible main courses that feature locally grown, prepared or harvested foods. Check out a few of them below:

• Monday, April 8 will have local croissants from Bread Loafers Bakery in Hancock. These artisan croissants were an absolute hit in early March when they made their debut. Thanks to the crew at Bread Loafers for making this a reality.
• Wednesday April 10 features a lamb stew with 100 percent locally grown lamb. The lamb comes from our friends at Whispering Wild Market Farm in nearby Toivola.
• Something more than a little unique to the menu this month is meatloaf on Wednesday, April 17 that’s made from bison raised at the Circle K Buffalo Ranch in Rudyard, Michigan.
• On Friday, April 19 the main course will be baked trout that comes from our friends at Peterson’s Fish Market. The trout is wild caught and sold to Copper Shores at a discount due to Peterson’s belief in the importance of Meals on Wheels.
• Throughout the month Meals on Wheels will also feature chicken, beef and pork provided by Buried Stone Farms in Rock, Michigan.

In total nearly half of our 22 meals will include local proteins, meaning the food will be healthier and tastier, plus it is better for our economy and environment since it’s raised/harvested here in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. These are just a few of the many examples of the things Copper Shores Meals on Wheels has been able to accomplish because of the $1.28 million grant from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement. You can learn more about our local food partners at coppershores.org/local-partners.

All meals are available to the folks who receive Meals on Wheels at-home delivery or to those who visit our weekly/daily congregate sites.

As spring begins to arrive in Michigan’s Copper Country, Copper Shores Meals on Wheels is eager to get started with our kitchen garden and receive more and more locally grown produce. Be sure to check back next month to see our May menu and of course subscribe to our email newsletter so you never miss any of the excitement!

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