Stay cool, hydrated, and informed. 

Extreme heat days are increasing throughout the nation and Iowa is no exception. Heat waves are happening more often than they used to around the United States, increasing from an average of two heat waves per year during the 1960s to six per year during the 2010s and on. It is important to be prepared and know how to stay safe in extremely hot weather. In the article there are some tips to help you beat the heat and find places to cool in Johnson County.

In 2022, the Iowa House and Senate unanimously passed critical legislation (SF 522) that makes elder abuse its own crime for the first time in Iowa. Governor Reynolds signed the bill into law on June 15, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The law takes effect July 1, 2022.

This new law creates criminal sanctions for elder abuse and helps fix the existing gap in Iowa law enforcement and financial institutions’ tools to stop and prevent it. Iowa previously criminalized the abuse of dependent adults with caretakers, but that left huge gaps in criminal protections for other older Iowans.

What can you do with the garden produce that you don’t eat? Table to Table and our volunteer food rescue superheroes have the answer. According to Feeding America, 108 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States every year. Table to Table’s mission is to keep wholesome, edible food from going to waste by collecting it from donors and distributing to those in need through agencies that serve the hungry, homeless, and at-risk populations. Since our founding in 1996, we have rescued and distributed over 25 million pounds of food. 

One of our recent initiatives is the Garden Recovery Program. Our goal for this is to create a database of local gardeners who regularly donate their excess produce for us, or even grow a row specifically for donating to Table to Table! If you would like to be added to this new database, please email molly@table2table.org.

In addition to the Garden Recovery Program, we also have a Gleaning program still in its infancy. During the first few months of the pandemic in 2020, we started going to farms and private residences to harvest, or “glean” their excess produce that would otherwise rot on the ground. Last year, we rescued 52,000 pounds of fresh produce. This is not only very beneficial to our recipients, but also fun! If you are a farmer/gardener and you would like our trained volunteers to come out to your place to glean your excess produce for you, or if you are a person with some free time on your hands and want to give gleaning a try, please email us at gleaning@table2table.org.

DPW is an emergency preparedness program developed by the University of Iowa College of Public Health. This program consists of five interactive modules and two additional sections on special topics. Through engaging in discussions about disaster preparedness and management, a trained individual will enter your information into the online tool to develop a personalized disaster management plan. Five main modules are: (1) Complete a Personal & Household Assessment, (2) Develop a Personal Emergency Network, (3) Develop Emergency Information & Gather Important Documents, (4) Keep a 3-5 Day Supply of Medications & Medical Supplies, and (5) Build an Emergency Supply Kit. Two optional special topics will allow you to develop plans for individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia, and for pets and service animals. 

If interested, please contact Nick Ostrem at (319) -467-1193 OR

email cph-prepwise@uiowa.edu

The Summit's goal is to provide information and resources for providers from providers. This year's theme is Suicide Prevention. The CSP has approached this topic by having intimate conversations with VA and non-VA providers who address this reality in their own way. The goal is to be informative, engaging and provide resources that increase access for Veterans, Caregivers and Family member in our service area.

Contact: James.Johnson23@va.gov to register and or for any questions. 

Music on Main