Nutrition Services employees ‘step up to wellness’ at first departmental health fair
An HISD Nutrition Services employee (right) gets one of his “health numbers” from a vendor.
HISD’s Nutrition Services hosted its very first internal health fair on Jan. 13, and dozens of interested employees came to the Bennington facility to learn more about their benefits.
“This is the first time that we’ve had a fair of this magnitude with all of our vendors at one place,” noted HISD benefits counselor Ada Napuri.
The event’s goal was to raise awareness of all the resources available to employees, and to give them a chance to learn their “personal health numbers,” such as weight, body mass index, and blood pressure. The first 50 attendees also received a blood glucose reading from Diabetes America, the district’s long-standing partner.
Nutrition Services representatives interpreted the health numbers for participants and gave tips on how to improve them. “One of the major topics I discussed was making better beverage choices,” said Dietitian Jenny Lengyel. “Small changes can lead to big differences.”
Chef Thomas Valdivieso also gave two healthy cooking demonstrations, then provided cooking tips, answered questions, and handed out food samples and recipe cards.
“The health fair was very successful,” said Antonia Sandoval, Nutrition Services human resources director. “We met our goal of raising awareness and making a difference in our employees’ lives.”
