Free produce, health screenings given last Wednesday of the month

Fallbrook Food Pantry has been serving the local community since 1991. Besides providing a nutritious diet to low income and disadvantaged families, the nonprofit organization also hosts a once a month food distribution and health screening that are open to the whole community.

The Neighborhood Distribution is offered the last Wednesday of each month, 9 to 10 a.m., at the LifePointe Church parking lot, corner of Hawthorne Street and N. Pico Avenue, one block from Fallbrook Library. In collaboration with the San Diego Food Bank Fresh, vegetables and fruits are distributed to everyone who shows up.

Recipients do no need to sign up, and there are no requirements to meet to receive the food. A variety of fruits and vegetables are handed out. The July 25 produce included cantaloupe, watermelon, potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, asparagus and grapes. Residents bring their own grocery bags or carts to carry their healthy choices home. The next food distribution will be Aug. 29.

Besides picking up a nutritious supply of food, residents can also take part in the free health screening which is available courtesy of Fallbrook Smiles Project, the California State University San Marcos School of Nursing and the Fallbrook Food Pantry, 8 to 10:30 a.m. or the end of the food distribution.

Fallbrook Smiles Project is a local nonprofit, funded by the Fallbrook Regional Health District, which provides medical, dental and vision components to the community.

At the Neighborhood Distribution each month, nursing students from CSUSM perform the health screening which consists of measuring height, weight, body mass index, blood pressure and blood sugar. Occasionally other screenings are available as well, all of which are supervised by a nurse.

Participants have the option of doing all the screenings or they can pick and choose. They receive immediate feedback and the results of their screenings, as well as written results that they can take to their doctor for further care if needed.

Fallbrook Smiles Project keeps track of every time the participant is at the screening, so they can see any trends developing, such as weight gain or loss and blood pressure or blood sugar changes.

According to project coordinator Janine Loescher, they have sometimes seen patients with seriously elevated blood pressure or blood sugar and have been able to help them in getting same day medical services. They also can make referrals to the participant's physician if they see an issue or provide information where they might be able to get medical services.

Loescher said that when the nursing students are off from school, the group does not usually attend the distribution. The nursing students are part of a community and public health class that is taught in Fallbrook each semester; their instructor is registered nurse Madelyn Lewis.

The students at the July distribution are in their last semester of nursing school and graduate at the end of the semester. So, a new group of students will be doing the screenings, Aug. 29. The students do other screenings and health education in the community and schools as well as this particular screening.

For more information about Fallbrook Food Pantry's services, visit http://www.fallbrookfoodpantry.org. For more information on Fallbrook Smiles Project, call (619) 261-0871.