Renal Friendly Foods for the Holidays

On December 12 and 13, Dietetic Interns, Melissa Payne and Vicki Omeljaniuk, delivered special gifts to hemodialysis patients at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. The annual Renal Holiday Hampers are specifically made with safe and healthy foods for renal patients who are on dialysis because they must adhere to a very strict diet that limits their holiday food options.

This year, Payne and Omeljaniuk are taking the hampers one step further by evaluating their education component. “We want to see if patients’ knowledge improves if we provide them with a hands-on experience with new foods, and instructions on how to use them,” they said. The hampers consist of food items that will provide dinner, dessert and breakfast for two people, as well as accompanying recipes that teach patients how to use the foods that are provided, like corn meal, to make renal-friendly meals.

242 patients, including patients in Fort Frances and Sioux Lookout, received a hamper this year. Renal Services would like to thank Darcy’s No Frills, the Renal Bake Sale at our Hospital, and the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation’s Renal Patient Fund for their support in making this project possible.