Lea este artículo en español aquí.
The Hollister Farmers Market brought health and wellness awareness to downtown Hollister on Oct. 9 with Vida Y Salud, a health fair sponsored by the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN) and Spectrum TV. The event included booths from local health care organizations, folklorico performances from Carismo Mexicano, music from 101.7 The Beach’s DJ Fredo, and free face painting from Serena’s Face Painting.
It was attended by Mayor Mia Casey and San Benito County Supervisor Mindy Sotelo. The Hollister Farmers Market was also presented with a $1,250 check by HITN and Spectrum TV, which will sponsor the 2025 Hollister Farmers Market.
According to its website, the Spanish-language public broadcasting network HITN aims to “advance the educational, cultural and socio-economic aspirations of U.S. Hispanics through the development and distribution of quality and authentic content, on-air, online and on the ground.”
HITN Director of Community Affairs Rudy Vargas told BenitoLink its Vida Y Salud health fairs have been supporting communities in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York for the past six years by focusing on health issues predominantly affecting Latino communities: diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease and cancer.
“When we come to like an event like this, we encourage the organizers to bring in other health organizations from the community because what we want is the people from the community to know that these services exist,” Vargas said.
Hollister’s Vida Y Salud brought in organizations such as the California Nurses Association, Suicide Prevention Services, Gavilan College, Community Food Bank of San Benito County, Central California Alliance for Health, Cal-Fresh, and Youth Recovery Connections.
“We are making sure that all of our community has access to wellness and health,” Sotelo said. “I just learned we are one of five, nationwide, of these events. So thank you so much for bringing it here.”
Farmers Market manager Bri Tavares told BenitoLink she was contacted by HITN and Spectrum TV earlier this year after they “decided Hollister was the targeted market for California this year,” she said.
“Every year we look for sponsors to help support the market and we are grateful they sought us out,” Tavares said. “The businesses and organizations that participated were so grateful to have this platform to promote the programs they offer. We always encourage our local health and wellness organizations’ participation in the Hollister Farmers Market, but it was amazing to be able to highlight them.”
The Hollister Downtown Association plans to continue promoting health and wellness in the community by setting aside a farmers market day for it in the coming seasons, Tavares said.
“We have worked hard to grow the Hollister Farmers Market the past few years, but being highlighted by HITN and Spectrum goes to show our work and our community is not unnoticed,” she said.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.
