Oxnard, California : Over 350 people gathered on Sunday, September 18, 2016 for the Sembrando Salud 5K at Oxnard College Park. The event began with at 8:30am with a one-mile fun run for children and a 5K walk/run at 9:00am for adults.
All participants received a race T-shirt, hat and medal for completing the race as well as a pre-run and post-run snack. Sponsors for the Sembrando Salud 5K included: Driscoll’s, Reiter Brothers Inc., Cool Pak, Rabobank, La Clínica FreSalud/provided by HealthStat, Pindstrup, Dayzad Law Offices, P.C., Dr. Raymond Lopez, USA Ag, Ag Tunnels, Deardorff Family Farms, Laguna Farms, J&E Berry Farms, El Dorado Farms, Real Farming, GAMA Farms and Las Posas Berry Farms.
“We are excited to have hosted an event that promotes healthy habits and is free of charge to all employees of a ranch within the BerryCentro network,” said Priscila Cisneros, Sembrando Salud program manager. “Since Sembrando Salud first launched in 2009, we have been empowering families to make educated decisions that improve their health and overall happiness.”
Sembrando Salud, established by Reiter Affiliated Companies (RAC), is an obesity and diabetes prevention and management program that helps create healthy ranch communities throughout California. The program includes an educational curriculum taught over the course of 11 weeks.
“Studies show that nearly 70% of Latinos in California are overweight or obese, and obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes” said Yissel Barajas, chief human resources officer for Reiter Affiliated Companies. “These statistics were concerning, and as a company, RAC decided to make a change and help promote wellness and healthy habits among the Latino community.”
Sembrando Salud first launched as a pilot program in Oxnard and Watsonville, California. The pilot was a partnership with UC Davis and published in the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Journal. On average, 600 farm workers graduate from Sembrando Salud annually.
To learn more about the Sembrando Salud program, please visit: www.berry.net/culture/SembrandoSalud