Food Outreach has a Registered Dietitian on staff, available from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and by appointment. The Dietitian performs Mini Nutritional Assessments (MNA), which indicate a multitude of nutrition factors, including, but not limited to, food intake, severity of appetite loss, consumption of specific food items (dairy, meat, legumes), mobility, mode of feeding, and the client’s personal view of their nutritional status. Each client’s status is then evaluated based on individual follow-up assessments (eg. weight gain, weight loss, improved muscle mass, alleviation of treatment side effects, progression to Ideal Body Weight, etc.). These factors are documented and nutrition goals are adjusted, as appropriate. The Dietitian will provide individualized dietetic counseling, which forms the basis for a personalized eating plan, taking into account secondary illnesses and conditions that may affect recommendations. In addition, body weight, muscle content, and fat content are tracked, and a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) is performed. This non-invasive test helps detect muscle wasting, a common fatal manifestation of HIV and cancer.