Fruit and Veggie Fest kicked off at Wrigley’s Market in National City on Tuesday May 31st, 2016. This was a huge community gathering including local El Toyon Elementary School, community members, partners and the National City Mayor Ron Morrison! UC San Diego Youth Advisory Council got active, and volunteered at the event promoting increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. There were interactive stations set up through this family owned store where the students could color a fruit and vegetable rainbow, try assortments of veggies and hummus and plentiful fruit throughout the store! Wrigley’s has committed to increasing their fresh produce available at the store, including a healthy snack area, minimizing unhealthy foods and drinks. They are dedicated in offering affordable, quality fruits and vegetables in National City. We encourage community members to shop there to applaud this business in their efforts to making San Diegans healthier.
On May 25th, 2016 Hoover High School kindly invited UC San Diego Youth Council to participate, engage, and recruit members for our Youth Council. We partnered with Home Start Inc., San Diego County’s, “Rethink Your Drink” campaign who provided deliciously healthy water infused with local strawberries and fresh mint. UC San Diego created an interactive photo booth that engaged the high school students that healthy choices can taste delicious and be fun while learning about it. Social media is such a unique and interactive source that allows the students to connect with one another in addition to connecting to the community. Rethink your drink educated these high school students approximately how much sugar was in popular beverages such as soda, sweet tea, energy drinks, and fruit juices and supplied healthier alternative recipes for herbal tea and infused waters. Hopefully we inspired the students to make better drink choices and inspired some to become UC San Diego Youth Council members to make a difference in their communities.
