Discover just how delicious better well-being can be during Fort Worth’s second annual Blue Zones Restaurant Week celebration. Between Oct. 11 and 17, 2021, more than 20 area eateries will offer special pricing on savory, plant-based menu items and dishes that are Blue Zones inspired—reflecting eating habits in parts of the world where people live the longest, with less chronic disease. Blue Zones Project is a community-led initiative to make healthy choices easier. As part of the citywide effort, Fort Worth restaurants are increasingly offering diners plant-based, vegetarian and vegan options. Blue Zones Restaurant Week gives diners an opportunity to support that commitment to well-being and sample a variety of tasty, healthy recipes at a great price, often at some restaurants that you might not normally expect to find such plant-based options.

It’s now even easier for some local shoppers to “SNAP” up fresh fruits and vegetables to feed their families. A successful Double Up Food Bucks program piloted at Elrod’s Cost Plus Supermarket in north Fort Worth in October has expanded to a second grocery store, Foodland Market, 1212 S. Ayers Ave., Fort Worth. Double Up Food Bucks enables Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to save on eligible fresh produce. Using a Lone Star Card, SNAP shoppers can receive 50% off, or up to $10 in savings per day, per customer. 

Are you yearning to dine out but can’t seem to find healthier options that actually taste good? Your taste buds will be delighted to find a variety of fresh and tasty options during Blue Zones Restaurant Week, Feb. 24 - March 1. Throughout the week, dozens of Blue Zones Project Approved™ and participating restaurants across Fort Worth will highlight their Blue Zones-inspired dishes and menu items at special prices and discounts. Everything from grain bowls to veggie curries to flavor-packed soups. Visit BlueZonesRestaurantWeek.com for a complete list of restaurants and specials.

Calling all food retailers, food hubs, farmers markets, and mobile markets. The Fort Worth Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), a partnership between the City of Fort Worth and PeopleFund, provides low-cost loans to open, renovate, or expand mid-size and small food retail outlets in low- and moderate-income communities with few grocery options. The program allows small-business owners to grow their business with low interest rates and extended terms while improving the health of our community.

Students at Westpark Elementary had the chance to school their teachers earlier this spring. That’s when Westpark’s Blue Zones Project student ambassadors held their own cooking demonstration—educating faculty and staff about the benefits of scratch cooking and serving up easy-to-make pancakes from wholesome ingredients.

Most people in the original Blue Zones^® areas eat a rich array of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are packed with disease-fighting nutrients.