I-Wen (Ruby) Lu
| I-Wen (Ruby) Lu |
I-Wen (Ruby) Lu
Joan Gluch
Division of Community Oral Health, Preventive & Restorative Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine
Description
MANNA is a leader in evidence-based nutrition services, bringing together dietitians, chefs, drivers and thousands of volunteers to cook and deliver nutritious, medically appropriate meals and provide nutrition counseling to neighbors who are battling life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, renal disease and HIV/AIDS. From hands-on cooking classes and nutrition counseling to the delivery of three meals a day, seven days a week, MANNA provides nourishment, hope and healing to the greater Philadelphia area, southern New Jersey and beyond.
Project Overview
The Bridging the Gaps student interns worked on a variety of projects at MANNA with the goal of optimizing the organization's ability to serve the local communities.
Outcome
I decided to be part of Bridging the Gaps because of the opportunity it offers to directly serve the local Philadelphia community. Despite the internship being mostly virtual, my experience with Bridging the Gaps has been nothing but eye-opening and fulfilling. Every piece of the program, including the weekly seminars and working with MANNA directly, provided me a deeper understanding of the community and myself. In addition, the opportunity to develop interprofessional relationships between different healthcare providers was extremely valuable. Being able to gain an understanding of every healthcare provider’s perspective and see how each plays a role in serving the community has benefited me in the long run. Finally, as a firm believer that “Food is medicine”, it truly has been a privilege to be able to be part of MANNA this summer!”