How We Meet the Needs of Individuals Living with Severe Diabetes

At God’s Love We Deliver, all clients receive a complete medically tailored meal intervention that includes Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) and Medically Tailored Meals (MTM). Conducted by a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, MNT is an evidence-based application of the Nutrition Care Process that focuses on prevention, delay, and management of diseases and conditions. It involves an in-depth assessment and periodic reassessment, counseling and nutrition education. The beauty of the God’s Love program is that our RDNs create plans with clients that include the provision of meals that are medically appropriate to that individual. Utilizing a combination of our available meal modifications, our RDNs individualize menus to meet each client’s needs. Since our clients with chronic illness are unable to shop and cook, these meals not only reinforce the education from the RDN, they are literally lifesaving.

Nearly 7% of our clients have severe diabetes as a primary diagnosis and are also managing complications related to the disease like neuropathy or renal failure. And, 44% have a secondary diagnosis of diabetes along with a primary diagnosis of another illness like HIV or cancer. These complicated medical conditions require medical tailoring of meals. For our clients with diabetes, our heart-healthy, well-balanced meals with consistent amounts of carbohydrates complement the nutrition education that we provide. Our bakery also produces modified desserts that contain less sugar as well as carbohydrates that are good choices for our clients with diabetes.

Our latest nutrition education booklet, Nutrition Tips for Diabetes, was published by the Nutrition Services Department in the fall. Written by God’s Love RDNs, its purpose is to help those with diabetes find food and lifestyle habits that work for them. Healthy eating behaviors, well-balanced meal planning, safe exercise, and managing diabetes with other conditions are some of the topics discussed. This resource, along with the others in our collection, is distributed to our clients as well as the community at large; all of our nutrition booklets are also available as a free download on our website. Visit glwd.org/diabetes for more information.