Community health fair to offer free taco dinner, cooking demos and more
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — A “Highlawn Community Garden Fresh Start” community health fair will be held May 6 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Huntington First Church of the Nazarene.
Offering a free, healthy taco dinner to attendees, the event will also feature a cooking demonstration on how to make fresh salsa. Activities will be available for children, teens and adults. Blood pressure checks and glucose checks will also be offered.
The event is free and open to the entire community and surrounding areas.
“We opened the Highlawn Community Garden last year and when talking about bringing healthy foods to the community, we expanded the idea to include healthy living through a small health fair,” said Cynthia Saxton, a registered nurse who is a WVU School of Nursing trained Faith Community Nurse through support from the Pallottine Foundation of Huntington.
“Even with two hospitals in the area, there are still members of the community who don’t seek preventive healthcare,” Saxton said. “By beginning to focus on awareness in our local congregations, faith community nurses can work toward encouraging prevention of some of these chronic health issues. In addition, we can identify some barriers that keep members from seeking help.”
During the event, the community garden will be opening and having sign-ups for this summer, thanks to support from the Highlawn Community Alliance. Saxton said they have six elevated beds to make gardening handicap accessible and to encourage older members of their congregation and community to participate. There are a total of 26 regular raised beds as well.
Additionally, the Cabell-Huntington Health Department, the Quick Response Team, Short Chiropractic and the Huntington Fire Department plan to set up booths at the event. The Huntington First Church of the Nazarene is located at 321 30th Street in Huntington.
The “Highlawn Community Garden Fresh Start” is yet another way the health ministry is growing its work. Saxton said their church has had a small health ministry for the past roughly 15 years, which has been supported by another Faith Community Nurse in the congregation, Lynda Turner.
Together, the nurses have offered blood pressure and glucose checks, as well as CPR training. Turner also assisted the church in acquiring an AED, or automated external defibrillator, which is used to help those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. The Faith Community Nurses have also been working with Faith Health Appalachia to bring more assistance to the Highlawn area.
For more information about the event, email Cynthia Saxton at warmcupofcoffee@gmail.com.
If you are a West Virginia nurse who would like to learn more about Faith Community Nurse training, please contact Dr. Angel Smothers at angel.smothers@hsc.wvu.edu.
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CONTACT: Wendy Holdren
Director of Communications and Marketing
WVU School of Nursing
304-581-1772; wendy.holdren@hsc.wvu.edu