Healthy Meals for Special Needs Romanian Orphans

Dear Friends,

Did you ever eat something that felt "yucky?"  Children with special needs are especially sensitive to how foods feel in their hands or mouths or how it smells. Or maybe a new food is scary. This is really common! We've all had food aversions! But kids with sensory food issues have a big problem because they don't get a mix of foods providing correct nutrition. As a result, their health is at risk including brain and physical development. We have children who come to us hungry, saying they need to eat, but then their food sensory issues prevent them from getting the nutrition they badly need. Our CEO Laura Larkin is a certified Integrative Nutritionist and knew we had to do more to help these kids. So we came up with a fun Plan of Action to put our kids on a path to improved wellness while having a positive eating experience!  During the summer, when the kids were off from school, we implemented a Kids Cooking Program at our Delia's Center for Special Needs Kids.

We got the kids involved in their personal eating experience by making fun, nutritious snacks. Involvement led to a greater willingness to try new food. It also helps develop fine motor skills, often a problem in kids with disabilities. And three big bonuses! First, a sense of accomplishment in creating and cooking. Second, as a group activitiy it helped the kids develop social skills. AND, third, cooking is a lot of fun!

Proper nutrition is one of our core initiatives as we serve kids with intellectual, physical/medical and developmental disabilities including autism. The majority of our kids are orphans in foster care. Many come from rural villages and live in homes without water and refrigeration. Our kids need the nutritious mini meals and snacks we provide but they also really needed to learn that eating can be fun! 

The kids loved the summer experience and we continue to weave it into our fall activities. Laura and I had a wonderful couple weeks with the kids in late September/early October. It was difficult to leave them but we will return soon. 

Please consider continuing to contribute to our Nutrition Program. Our budget is stretched thin, and like everywhere else in the world, food prices continue to climb high! The link is in this email and it would be very much appreciated.

Any time you want a peak into our activities please follow us on Facebook and Instagram for lots of photos.

Insta: @The_Delia_Foundation

Facebook: facebook.com/deliafoundation

Thank you for being a part of the children's journey to wellness!

Best,

Lauren

Links:

• Facebook Page
• The Delia Foundation Website

Dear Friends, 

With 41 children now attending our Delia's Learning Center in Barlad, Romania, our nutrition program is more important than ever!  Our new teen program, means that we have lots of bigger kids who are now also depending on us for healthy meals. As in many places in the world, including the U.S. and Europe, food prices have sky rocketed over the past year. Despite this, we have continued to provide the children with fresh food to fuel their bodies and minds: Chicken, fish, eggs, yogurt, vegetables, fruit, and homemade juices.  Take a look at the photos in this report and you will surely feel like we do :  meals are lovingly prepared and served beautifully so that the children feel cared for and valued. We are grateful that you have given us the opportunity to get our nutrition program off the ground and keep it running. We do need to continually fund the program and if you feel so inclined, there is a link in this report so that you can continue to support giving the children healthy meals.   Enjoy the photos... there is nothing better than happy, healthy children!

With Gratitude,

Lauren Fishbach, U.S. Board President, The Delia Foundation

David Conway, Trustee, UK Association of Delia's Friends

Laura Larkin, CEO, The Delia Foundation

Links:

• The Delia Foundation Website