Phoenix Food Day features a local food market, live music, cooking demos and health screenings. The free community event is Oct. 13 at Cartwright Community Garden.

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be a chore. 

That’s the idea behind Phoenix Food Day 2018, a free event that promotes healthy eating and locally grown foods.

The seventh annual Phoenix Food Day runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, at Cartwright Community Garden in Phoenix.

The event is co-sponsored by Vitalyst Health Foundation, the Maricopa County Food System Coalition and the city of Phoenix.

Eat, shop, learn

“The purpose of Phoenix Food Day is to celebrate the role that food plays in our lives. Not only from a basic nutritional level, but also on a community level,” said C.J. Eisenbarth Hager, director of healthy community policies of Vitalyst Health Foundation. The Phoenix-based foundation has been a sponsor of the event for the past four years. 

Phoenix Food Day will feature family-friendly activities throughout the day, including:

• A fresh produce market featuring locally grown fruits and veggies.
• Kid-friendly gardening demos.
• A baseball clinic hosted by the Milwaukee Brewers.
• Live music.
• Healthy cooking demos.
• Food trucks.

Making healthy eating fun

One of the event’s signature activities is the “Apple Crunch.”

At noon, volunteers will pass out free apples to everyone. Attendees are encouraged to take a bite out of their apple at the same time to demonstrate a commitment to healthier eating. 

“Food should be joyous,” Hager said. “That’s why we hold the event in a fair-like environment. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about our local food environment, to learn about what grows here, to learn about what’s healthy, but then also to have fun doing it.”

Local event with national ties

Phoenix Food Day is an offshoot of National Food Day, says Paris Masek, co-chair of the Phoenix Food Day committee.

In 2011, Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest launched the event to encourage more people to eat healthy and sustainably produced food. 

To reach as many Phoenix communities as possible, Masek says the city plans to move the location of the event every two years. This is the first year that Phoenix Food Day is being held at the Cartwright Community Garden. 

Reach Escárcega at [email protected] or 602-444-8690. Interact with her on Twitter.

Phoenix Food Day 2018

When: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13.  

Where: Cartwright Community Garden, 4208 N. 51st Ave., Phoenix.

Admission: Free. Bring cash for vendors.

Details: phoenix.gov/sustainability/foodday.

Schedule of events

9 a.m.: Gardening demos.

10 a.m.: Cooking demo with chef Yesenia Perrino.

10:30 a.m.: Mini baseball clinic hosted by the Milwaukee Brewers.

11 a.m.: Cooking demo with chef Sacha Levine.

11:30 a.m.: Live music from Pilgrim’s Rest Baptist Church Band.

Noon: The Apple Crunch, sponsored by Fry’s Food Stores.

12:30 p.m.: Cooking demo with chef Lee Strand.

MORE FALL & FAMILY EVENTS:

 

 

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