
Kevin Kilmartin was a foodie. But since having a stroke in 2018 and subsequent kidney issues, Kilmartin has been unable to cook for himself or his wife. “My kidneys shut down on me last October, and I just didn’t have the energy to cook,” he says. Doctors told him to qualify for a kidney transplant, he’d have to lose 100 pounds, and obey a strict diet with hard-to-understand restrictions. Too drained to cook, too overwhelmed by the cost of relying exclusively on takeout, and feeling guilty about burdening his worried wife, he turned to MANNA, the 35-year-old nonprofit that provides free, medically-tailored meals (MTMs) and education about how nutrition affects health conditions to Philadelphians who need it. Now, Kilmartin says, “my labs are coming back beautiful, I’m right on-target.” He’s lost 67 pounds; his wife has lost 100. “Last year at this time, I could barely walk 100 feet,” he says. “Now, I walk more than 2 miles, several times a week, from my dialysis center back home.” MANNA’s positive impact is more than anecdotal. Last month, the journal BMC Nutrition released research by The MANNA Institute, the research arm of MANNA, showing that its clients achieved a “significant decrease in malnutrition risk” and meaningful changes in conditions like diabetes and hypertension.
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