Health Fair Focuses on Body, Fitness, Nutrition
Looking to keep up with your New Year's resolutions and connect with your community? There's a Health and Wellness Fair this Saturday, March 4, at Hayward Adult School in the Cherryland neighborhood.
The event is open to all ages and is a way for residents to get involved in their own health plans and find ways to live healthier and happier lives.
Representatives from multiple public and private agencies will be on hand to lead hands-on activities. Alameda County Health Care Services, La Familia Health Services, Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, La Clinical, Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (H.A.R.D.), Deputy Sheriff's Activities League (DSAL), Dig Deep Food Hub, ACSO Youth and Family Services, REACH Ashland Youth Center, and Kaiser Permanente are among the groups participating in the event.
The event is novel in that the Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) Crime Prevention Unit (CPU) is hosting the event. The group has provided other community outreach opportunities, including last year's "Dogs and Deputies" at Meek Estate and the "Halloween Comic Fest" at Crush Comics. But this is the first time the CPU has assembled a support team focused on people's health.
"These are not just pop-up booths where people walk by and grab a flier. We want people to get involved in their own health and wellness," Deputy Ruben Pola told the Forum. "The Sheriff's Department is evolving. It's important for us to reach out to the community and work with them so they can see law enforcement as a service provider. As Deputies, we are familiar with these services. It is important to have them all in one place where residents can sign up for these resources."
The Fair is broken into three focus areas: healthy body, ability-appropriate fitness, and simple nutrition strategies.
Starting with the body, the Fair will provide doctors and physicians to assess medical, mental, and dental health. Flu and COVID vaccines will be made available through La Familia and the Alameda County Public Health Department.
Fitness will include demonstrations in Tai Chi by H.A.R.D. and boxing demos by the DSAL. Alameda County's SWAT team is scheduled to show off how deputies keep in shape with calisthenics and other heart-pumping exercises. The fitness section will provide simple-to-perform activities that any ability can use to keep muscles limber and encourage movement.
Finally, nutrition will be covered by Dig Deep Farms, which will have one of their local chefs demonstrate how to make a quick and healthy meal using ingredients from a food pantry donation box.
"We want to show people how to use everything they receive in one of these boxes. There will be a recipe with a link to an online video available so that residents can play it on their phone or tablet while preparing the food," Deputy Pola says.
The nutrition section will also include demonstrations of urban farming for residents who want to learn how to grow their own fruits and vegetables.
Hayward Adult School is located on Princeton Street. The Fair goes between 10 am and 2 pm.