Health

Connecting the Community to Healthier Food

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The morning drizzle didn’t stop hundreds of North County residents from showing up at Discipulos de Cristo in Vista for a community food distribution event held today to celebrate National Food Day.

National Food Day, which is actually Oct. 24, is a nationwide event to highlight the need for healthy, affordable and sustainable food. The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) was a sponsor of today’s event.

“’Live Well, San Diego!’ is about empowering county residents to lead healthier lives and today’s food distribution event was a great way for HHSA to work with our community partners to give residents access to healthy foods as well as educational materials,” said Carey Riccitelli, supervising community health promotion specialist for HHSA.

HHSA, Vista Community Clinic, Feeding America San Diego and North County Lifeline were on hand to distribute the food, health information and guides to local resources. Residents received fresh strawberries, potatoes and onions as well as cereal, yogurt, pasta and other items.

Games and balloons entertained the children while adults watched healthy cooking demonstrations and presentations on how much sugar and fat were in popular food products.

HHSA had tables of information available on services ranging from flu shots to mental health services to nutrition and CalFresh (food stamps).

“We were able to showcase ‘Live Well, San Diego!’ and the work our CX3 Communities of Excellence group is doing to improve the health of their friends and neighbors in their community,” said Ricitelli. “It was really well received by community members.”

Tom Christensen is a communications specialist with the County of San Diego Communications Office. Contact