Blue Zones Project - Monterey County Blog

May Events

May Events | Eventos de mayo

Discover your RealAge

RECAP OF BZP EVENTS

Events in the Peninsula Cities

Peninsula Cities Certification Site-Visit 

Blue Zones Project is excitedly preparing for an upcoming certification site visit. This visit will provide an incredible opportunity to showcase the significant progress and accomplishments achieved within the community. Over the past year, the Peninsula project has successfully engaged over 1,400 community members directly and reached a total of 10,600 individuals through various initiatives in the Peninsula Cities the past four years.

Additionally, 20 Participating Organizations have been Recognized for their contributions to the project's goals. The site visit will serve as a testament to the collective efforts and commitment of the Peninsula Cities community in creating a healthier and more vibrant environment.

Thank you all who continue to make the healthy choice, the easy choice, and by making Monterey County a healthier, happier place to live, work, and play.

Events in Salinas

Walk with the Doc RealAge Test 

BZP attended the Walk with a Doc series which is in partnership with our sponsor Salinas Valley Health. We invited the community participants to take the RealAge Test and discover their RealAge. 

Amor Salinas Earth Day 

BZP participated in the Salinas Earth Day resource fair where we handed out BZP resources and information about the RealAge Test. Likewise we shared our upcoming events! 

El Mercado, Hartnell Basic Needs Celebration

We celebrated El Mercado at Hartnell Basic Needs Center as they became an Inspired Organization! We are excited to have worked with them and for all of the great work they are doing in addressing food insecurities at the college level. 

Events around the County

Hartnell Lunch and Learn

Traveled to the Soledad Hartnell Campus to have a fun healthy cooking demonstration for participants. We also took the time to have the participants complete the RealAge Test together. The entire team did it which was fun for all of them to see what their results were. 

KC Restaurant Day

A day to celebrate BZP Approved restaurants in King City and give them recognition for their healthy food items. We had La Plaza Bakery, Bloom Cafe, Hestia, and El Taquero participate in a Restaurant day featuring tasty Blue Zones inspired bites that anyone could come and try for free. There were over 200 samples distributed that day! All of these participating restaurants did a great job and continue to do a great job in the community. If you are ever in King City, stop by and check them out! 

SVH Community Health Day

We had a fun day celebrating the city of Castroville at a really great event. There were a lot of families who attended. BZP had their art bike, which was a big hit! There was a lot of wonderful art pieces created that day. We also used this opportunity to promote the and RealAge Test so individuals could find out their real age and inform priority areas of well-being in our community.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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April Events

April Events | Eventos de abril

THANK YOU, VOLUNTEERS!

Huge thanks to our incredible Blue Zones Project volunteers and Ambassadors! Your passion and dedication are helping make our community a healthier, happier place. We couldn’t do all this wonderful work without you! Since the inception of BZPMC, we have hosted and partnered on 374 volunteer events, where 3,782 volunteers contributed over 12,258 hours of service to support community organizations and spaces throughout Monterey County!

Discover your RealAge

RECAP OF BZP EVENTS

Events in the Peninsula Cities

The City of Monterey Cutting Day and Horticulture Faire 

We had the exciting opportunity to participate in this year’s Cutting Day and Horticulture Faire hosted by the City of Monterey. We engaged with community members during the event while providing gardening information, food resources, and free seed packets. Thank you to all that stopped by our booth!

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SVH Community Health Day 

We had the pleasure to participate in the Salinas Valley Health Community Health Day in Marina and share our BZP resources with the Marina community. The mobile clinic was a big hit among the farmers' market visitors.

Events in Salinas

SVH Community Event 

Hosted at the Family Resource Center at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, the event saw partnerships between Salinas Valley Health Hospital, Aspire Health, and Blue Zones, bringing valuable resources to the community. The mobile clinic was also on-site, offering check-ups for those interested.

Soccer Complex Clean-up

The Soccer Complex Clean-ups are back for 2025! This sustainable event has become a favorite among young people looking to complete their community service hours, as well as local residents eager to make a positive impact on their community.

Events in other areas of Monterey County 

Hike and Wine

Now a BZP Participating Organization, the Hike and Wines series has kicked off at CRU Winery in collaboration with Valley Farm Management, and we’re thrilled to invite the public to join us for a scenic hike followed by a fun wine tasting experience. The hikes will be every second Sunday of the month at 10am.

Greenfield Walking Moai

With the support of the City of Greenfield, we’ve brought back the popular community walks from last year. We’re excited to continue them this year, with local businesses generously contributing prizes to support the event.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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March 2025

March Events | Eventos de marzo

 

 

Taste the blue zones

RECAP OF BZP EVENTS

BZP Events in the Peninsula Cities

 Community Volunteer Day Beach Clean-up

The Del Monte Beach cleanup, organized with the City of Monterey, was a success! Volunteers removed over 100 pounds of trash, improving the beach's environment. Thank you to all volunteers for your dedication!

The Blue Zones Project Monterey Office will be moving to a new office location! While our address is changing, our commitment to serving and supporting our community remains as strong as ever. We’re still here, just updating our address. Thank you for your continued support as we continue working together to make Monterey a healthier place to live, work, and play! Stay tuned for more updates.

BZP Events in Salinas

Let’s Zumba

To kick off the new year, we decided to bring Zumba to the community! In partnership with the Salinas Family YMCA, we introduced a fun and energetic dance experience for everyone. The class was a huge hit, and we received fantastic feedback from participants. We're excited to continue offering more classes in the future and keep the energy going!

El Gabilan Cooking Demo

In partnership with the Salinas Libraries, we’re excited to bring back one of the community's favorite events—the cooking demos! For this session, we created a healthy snack board featuring pink hummus in celebration of Valentine's Day. Everyone who attended had the opportunity to build their own personalized snack board, making it a fun and interactive experience for all!

Hartnell Cooking Demo

In collaboration with the Basic Needs Center at Hartnell College, we hosted a plant-based cooking demo featuring students. The Basic Needs Center recently launched a market, and our goal was to explore how to incorporate the fresh, available ingredients into a quick and easy recipe. For the demo, we prepared a plant-based chili, and the response from the participants was overwhelmingly positive!

BZP Events in the BZP County Project

Trashion Show

Blue Zones Project had the opportunity to attend a wonderful fundraiser for Alliance on Aging in King City. The money from the Trashion Show goes directly to support our critical senior services programs in Monterey County.  The coordinator of our Blue Zones Inspired Market, La Cocina, invited us, and we were glad Tina did, as we witnessed her BZP inspired outfit! Great fashion show and outfits were showcased.

North Monterey County Purpose Workshop

BZP was able to host a purpose workshop for the classified staff of NMC for their professional development day. It was a wonderful opportunity to help the staff (re)discover the gifts and how to align it to their personal and professional life.

Soledad Chamber of Commerce Mixer & CRU Winery Celebration

BZP had the opportunity to mix and mingle with the community of Soledad at their Soledad Chamber of Commerce mixer that took place at CRU Winery. We had the opportunity to celebrate CRU Winery as our newest BZP Participating Organization, the first tasting room in Monterey County! We are thrilled for this incredible achievement and look forward to the 3rd annual Hike and Wine series starting up on March 9th. The Hike & Wine events will take place on the second Sunday of every month at 10AM, through the fall - everyone is welcome!

 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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February 2025

February Events | Eventos de febrero

BZP Events in the Peninsula Cities

MLK Day of Service

In collaboration with City of Marina, Mayor Bruce Delgado, we organized a meaningful volunteer event that brought the community together to honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy through service. Many community members joined us on this special MLK day of service which included gardening, planting trees and painting inspirational rocks.

Cook With a Doc

In collaboration with Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula, Blue Zones Project held an exciting cooking demonstration with Drs. Grace and Ryan Casserly at the Monterey Public Library. The physicians and culinary enthusiasts prepared a Lemon-Garlic Kale Salad, Caramelized Cabbage and Walnut pasta, and almond-based Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars. Attendees enjoyed learning about the health benefits of these plant-based dishes and getting to sample them at the end. Thank you to Drs. Grace and Ryan Casserly, the Monterey Public Library, and all who attended, for making this a memorable event.

 

The Blue Zones Project Monterey Office will be moving to a new office location! While our address is changing, our commitment to serving and supporting our community remains as strong as ever. We’re still here, just in a different spot. Thank you for your continued support as we continue working together to make Monterey a healthier place to live, work, and play! Stay tuned for more updates.

BZP Events in South County

Gonzales Garden Pollinator Planting Day

Thank you to everyone who supported the Gonzales Garden Pollinator Planting Day! With the guidance of RCDMC, community members came together to create a beautiful pollinator garden at Gonzales Garden. It was a wonderful event, and we look forward to seeing you all at many more in the future!

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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January 2025

January Events | Eventos de enero

BZP Events in Salinas 

Salinas Soccer Complex Ribbon Cutting 

In December, we supported our BZP Recognized Organization, Salinas Regional Soccer Complex, with the second phase of their project. We came with healthy snacks and QR codes if people were interested in learning more. There were a lot of people who attended the event and following the ribbon cutting there was a SheKicks Classic Tournament which was the first all female tournament in the Salinas area. 

YMCA Holiday Demo

Spent our afternoon with the Salinas Family YMCA kids to create healthy holiday snacks; we had a banana snowman and a festive watermelon holiday tree. The kids we worked with were all very happy and enjoyed the snack demo. 

BZP Events in South County

Cooking Demo

We brought the community together for a healthy cooking demo. The dish for this demo was a plant-based pozole with oyster mushrooms. The event took place at the Taylor Farms Clinic in Gonzales, and it was a great success for everyone who attended. 

BZP Events County Wide

BZP Committee & Partner Holiday Breakfast

Before the end of the year, we celebrated with our sponsors, partners and organizations at a lovely breakfast made by our BZP Approved Restaurant El Colibri. We shared updates on our projects and all the great work accomplished in 2024, and new plans in store for the new year. Thank you to all those that support our project(s) and are helping us create a happier and healthier place for our community. 

BZP Events in the Peninsula Cities

MLK Jr Day of Service

Start a healthy new year by giving back to your community! In honor of MLK Jr., please join Blue Zones Project and Citizens for Sustainable Marina (C4SM) for a fun morning beautifying the Oak Woodland Community Garden in Marina on Monday, January 20, 2025. This is a family-friendly event and will include tasks for all ages. We hope to see you there!

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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December 2024

December Events | Eventos de diciembre

 

EVENT RECAP

BZP Events in Salinas

Cesar Chavez Cooking Demo 

30 individuals attended this cooking demo, in collaboration with the Salinas Public Library and volunteer chef. A very successful series thanks to our partnership and support from local chefs. We love learning new healthy plant-based dishes that are easy to make at home.

 

National Take a Hike Day

When it comes to Moving Naturally and getting outside, we really enjoy National Take a Hike Day. This year we were able to host 3 hikes with the help of some awesome volunteers and partners - in Soledad, Salinas and Marina. It’s always refreshing to take time for us to appreciate the beauty of nature and get moving in the fresh air.

BZP Events in the Peninsula Cities

Community Volunteer Day – Seaside 

In collaboration with Friends of Seaside Parks Association (FOSPA) and Sun Street Centers, our incredible volunteers helped us beautify the Havana Soliz Park in honor of the Great American Smokeout. FOSPA had hands-on tasks for all abilities and ages. It was the perfect opportunity for people to get outdoors, move naturally, and connect with their community – while growing a pollinator habitat!

Note: Our Monterey Office is moving locations! We will still be here, just in a new office. :)

 

BZP Events in South County

Cooking Demo – Soledad

Soledad residents were very eager to learn how to make a vegetarian pozole! They had the opportunity to ask many questions and learn how to make this traditional dish with a healthy twist. Everyone left excited and happy! Great collaborating with Soledad Community Center to bring these events to the community.

BZP Volunteering

School is back in full swing which means volunteer hour requirements and service-learning opportunities are also back! We have many opportunities to volunteer in the community during this busy season. We post all opportunities on this page, which is regularly updated. If you have any questions or are looking to have your hours signed off on, please reach out to our Volunteer Coordinator at mackenzie.fisher@sharecare.com.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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November 2024

November Events | Eventos de noviembre

EVENTS RECAP

BZP Events in Salinas

Salinas Ciclovia

Ciclovía is a fantastic event in Salinas that encourages the community to stay active. During this event, a major street is closed off, inviting everyone to run, walk, or bike freely. This year, we participated by setting up the SVH booth, where we distributed "Rethink Your Drink" kits to promote awareness about the beverages we consume. It’s a great way to inspire healthy choices while enjoying the day!

Sherwood Elementary School Grocery Tour

In collaboration with La Princessa Market Alisal and Sherwood Elementary School, we organized a grocery walking tour for parents, showcasing what an approved grocery store looks like. We had strong participation, and many parents asked insightful questions. With the school and market just around the corner from each other, it was an excellent opportunity to connect families to the store and highlight the fantastic California-grown produce available to them.

 

Hartnell College K12 STEAM

In partnership with Hartnell College and the Salinas Soccer Complex, we worked together to promote the K-12 STEM Program offered by the college. Setting up at the soccer complex allowed us to engage with the community and showcase various resources available. Additionally, we hosted a panel featuring one player from the Monterey Union and two Hartnell College soccer players, who shared their experiences and insights, inspiring attendees about the importance of education and sports.

BZP Events in the Peninsula Cities

Community Volunteer Day – Marina 

In collaboration with Citizens for Sustainable Marina (C4SM) and the City of Marina, our incredible volunteers helped us beautify the Oak Woodland Community Garden. C4SM had hands-on tasks for all abilities and ages. It was the perfect opportunity for people to get outdoors, move naturally, and connect with their community – while growing a pollinator habitat!

 

BZP Events in South County

King City Community Walking Series Celebration

The City of King celebrated the completion of their summer walking series. There was great participating from the community each week and the community really enjoyed the walks. Each week participants had a chance to win free giveaways and food bites from local sponsors. 

Community Health Event, Gonzales

In support of our sponsor, Salinas Valley Health, the community of Gonzales celebrated with a healthy event filled with activities, medical clinic, food bank, clean-up and more. We (re)introduced the RealAge test as well. Great to spend time with the community!

Hike & Wine, Soledad 

31 participants attended the last hike & wine series in Soledad with CRU Winery and Valley Farm Management. It was great in attendance and energy. Participants also were able to learn about the RealAge Test and complete it on their hike. There were newcomers who were sad to hear it was the last hike and everyone is already looking for next year’s hike & wine series. We are excited to continue the collaboration for these hikes next year. So much, we have decided to add ONE more hike this year in November for National Take a Hike Day on Sunday, Nov 17th at 10AM.

 

Ciclovia, King City

BZP supported King City Ciclovia, a day for the community to walk and cycle down the street and feel safe. What made this Ciclovia unique was that it was BZP-inspired with the Power 9 theme throughout the event so people could learn more. The partnership with the city and aligning their efforts to support and create a healthier community was present at this event.

BZP Volunteering

School is back in full swing which means volunteer hour requirements and service-learning opportunities are also back! We have many opportunities to volunteer in the community during this busy season. We post all opportunities on this page, which is regularly updated. If you have any questions or are looking to have your hours signed off on, please reach out to our Volunteer Coordinator at mackenzie.fisher@sharecare.com.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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October 2024

October Events | Eventos de octubre

 

EVENTS RECAP

Salinas

Salinas Certification & Awards Night

Following the Salinas Blue Zones Certification, the local BZP team decided to celebrate with our sponsors, organizations, and community members. We celebrated all the hard work that the team has accomplished and awarded some of our close partners with for going above and beyond the blue zones mission. We want to thank our participating BZP Approved Restaurants: La Casa del Sazon, Portobello's on Main, El Colibri Restaurant & Deli, Steinbeck House Restaurant and La Plaza Bakery for the delicious bites & Scheid Vineyard for providing some great wine to celebrate.

 

 

 

 

Salinas Certification Community Celebration

We also celebrated Salinas becoming a CERTIFIED Blue Zones Community by having a big community event and invited all Salinas to come and support. We had food trucks, baile folkloriko, bike rodeo, activities, and more! We really had a great time seeing you all there & helping us celebrate a happier, healthier Salinas. Big shoutout to Sabor Latin Fusion, R Truck, El Barrio, El Taquero, CalWater, Ecology Action, Salinas Family YMCA for making it a great event.

 

 

 

 

El Gabilan Cooking Demo

In collaboration with La Casa del Sazon, we decided to have our next cooking demo in the series at El Gabilan Library. The lead chef Ignacio Maravilla, created a Tostada Monarca that was a recipe that originated from his mother and now brough to the people of Salinas.

 

Salinas Soccer Complex Clean-Up

Our last soccer complex clean-up was a success! We had many people come out to volunteer with our approved organization to keep our outdoors spaces clean.

Salinas Senior Social

In collaboration with Meals on Wheel we went and hung out with a few of the seniors and enjoy their company. We also shared our upcoming events for them to come and enjoy BZP activities!

Peninsula Cities

Cook With a Doc – Marina

In collaboration with Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP), Montage Health, and the City of Marina, we hosted an exciting cooking demo with Dr. Devi Mahendran, a board-certified anesthesiologist and culinary enthusiast! Dr. Mahendran prepared a flavor-packed Asian Tofu Bowl with a variety of vegan drizzle sauces while she and Internal Medicine Physician Dr. Tiongco shared nutrition and health facts.

South County

Walking Moai Celebration, Greenfield

We celebrated the community of Greenfield completing 10 weeks of their walking moai. Over 30 participants attended the walks each week and 18 individuals completed the entire series. The community thoroughly enjoyed the walk and look forward to starting up again. We celebrated with some healthy snacks and a refreshing agua fresca from La Plaza Bakery. All participants received a certificated and had a chance to win giveaways.

Volunteer

School is back in full swing which means volunteer hour requirements and service-learning opportunities are also back! We have many opportunities to volunteer in the community during this busy season. We post all opportunities on this page, which is regularly updated. If you have any questions or are looking to have your hours signed off on, please reach out to our Volunteer Coordinator at mackenzie.fisher@sharecare.com.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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September 2024

September Events | Eventos de septiembre

 

EVENTS RECAP

Salinas

Breastfeeding Awareness Walk/Health Fair 

In collaboration with WIC, BZP went to invite the community to our certification celebration, it was a really great event to be part of and we had over 100 people engage with our table which really gave us the opportunity to talk with the participants a little more and answer any questions they had about BZP.

Veggie Packing Day

The annual Rancho Cielo Veggie Box Packing Fundraiser, as a team we decided to go and volunteer our time in supporting the pacing, we also had one of the restaurant workers from La Casa Del Sazon come and support as well, it was a very fun and collaborative event with the different sectors.

Kids Eat Right – Family Picnic 

In collaboration with Kids Eat Right we participated in a Family Picnic Event at Tatum’s Garden. There was a lot of different community partners also there and the Monterey County Food Bank. Really great weather for a picnic and outdoor activities to get the community moving naturally and connecting.

Peninsula Cities

Approval Celebration

We welcomed FUEL CYCLING to the BZP family as they celebrated their third anniversary! Fuel Cycling is an in-door boutique cycling studio that strongly believes in Blue Zones Project and BZP Power 9 by helping its staff and members make the healthy choice the easy choice.

They commemorated by hosting a fun gathering for their members by hosting small local businesses. Book your ride today and join the fun!

Smoothie Demo for Students 

Blue Zones Project staff connected with College Living Experience in Monterey to host a fun and interactive smoothie class. Students helped prepare three different fruit and veggie smoothies, sampled each one, and voted for their favorites. The strawberry, banana, cauliflower smoothie and tropical green smoothie were the winners. We love seeing the community enjoying getting their fruits and veggies in!

 

Cooking Demo for Seniors 

Over fifteen community members came out to Casanova Oak Knoll Park Center in Monterey for a healthy cooking demonstration in collaboration with the City of Monterey, Monterey Recreation, and Alliance on Aging. Chef Gundega Nigale from Alliance on Aging shared her recipes for a savory veggie crepe, sweet fruit crepe, and warm golden milk. Attendees sampled the delicious dishes while learning tips for healthy eating on a budget. Check out our events page for more cooking demonstrations throughout the county.

South County

La Cocina Approval Celebration

La Cocina Market in King City celebrated their approval with ribbon cutting from KC Chamber of Commerce, King City Mayor, Supervisor Chris Lopez, free BZP inspired bites, music, baile folklorico, and over 100 community engagement.

Countywide

National Night Out

BZP participated in the fun annual community event where everyone came together to celebrate connection and our communities. In total, we engaged with over 163 individuals across the county events this evening, promoting our BZP events and resources available.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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August 2024

August Events | Eventos de agosto

 

EVENTS RECAP

Salinas

Hike and Clean-up 

Our final hike at Ford Ord Creekside Terrence, was in collaboration with the Salinas Valley Young Professionals and Park Ranger Tammy. Not only did we get to hike up the hills of Ford Ord, but we also cleaned the hiking trails on the way. It was a very nice sunny day with a slight breeze, we meet new friends and learned about different native plants in the trials and helped keep it cleaned. Thank you to everyone who participated in the hike your support was very much appreciate and we hope you all had a lot of fun.

Soccer Complex Clean-up

This month we hosted our 2^nd to last soccer complex clean-up of the year. We had a great turnout and a wonderful representation from Natividad. Natividad brought students from their volunteer program and challenged them to see who could get the most trash. Friendly competition!

Peninsula Cities

Community Volunteer Day – Marina

In collaboration with Citizens for Sustainable Marina (C4SM) and the City of Marina, our incredible volunteers helped us beautify the Oak Woodland Community Garden. C4SM had hands-on tasks for all abilities and ages. It was the perfect opportunity for people to get outdoors, move naturally, and connect with their community – while growing a pollinator habitat!

 

Marina 822 Walking Moai 3-year Anniversary

This month, we celebrated Marina 822 Walking Moai’s third anniversary of walking together. What an inspiration! The Moai meets twice a week and walks for a total of three miles. If you’d like to join them, you can find them on Tuesday and Thursday at 10 AM at the Fort Ord Dunes State Park parking lot or email lidia.wilding@sharecare.com for more information.

South Monterey County

City of Greenfield Interns Purpose Workshop

BZP was able to host a purpose workshop for some of their summer interns and help them (re)discover their gifts. Thank you to the City of Greenfield for inviting us, such a great group of motivated youth!

Greenfield Community Walking Moai Launch

Great engagement and enthusiasm from the community as we launch the second annual Greenfield community walking moai. We had a great turnout despite the heat. If you are interested in joining, the moai meets every Tuesday at 9AM at Village Green Park in Greenfield. The moai runs through Sept 24.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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July 2024

July Events | Eventos de julio

 

EVENTS RECAP

Salinas

Father’s Days Hike

We started the weekend off right with a hike at Ford Ord Creekside Terrace to celebrate fathers. It was a fun, sunny, and windy hike but all the participants had a lot of fun. We thanked all the fathers with a little Positive Potato to carry with them. 

BZP Ambassador Training

Hosted our first BZP Ambassador Training in the Salinas office. Thank you to the engaged volunteers that showed up to learn more! We are looking for those individuals who want to dedicate their time and be a part of their community while making a difference. Visit our Eventbrite (link below) for upcoming training sessions!

Purpose Workshop to the SVH Summer Health Institute

In collaboration with Salinas Valley Health, BZP facilitated a purpose workshop presentation for the youth interested in a career in health care. The purpose workshop was a great way for them to (re)discover their purpose and keep pursuing it in their career.

Cooking Demo - Pozole Verde Vegano

In collaboration with the Salinas Libraries and our chef Marie, we brought people together at the Cesar Chavez Library for a demonstration on how to make a plant-based Green Pozole. The audience was a little skeptical to try at first, but they really enjoyed it and were able to learn how to make a healthier alternative to a traditional food. Try it yourself at home!

Peninsula Cities

Community Volunteer Day – Seaside

In collaboration with Friends of Seaside Parks Association (FOSPA) and the City of Seaside, our incredible volunteers helped us in beautifying the Havana Soliz Park. FOSPA had hands-on tasks for all abilities and ages. This was the perfect opportunity for people to get outdoors, move naturally, and connect with their community – while growing an edible garden and pollinator habitat!

Seaside Farmers’ Market – Seaside

BZP joined Everyone's Harvest and the City of Seaside to celebrate the 1st Anniversary of the Seaside Certified Farmers' Market! There were fun family activities, a ribbon cutting, local vendors, festive foods, live entertainment, and nutritional tastings. The Farmers’ Market is open year-round, Thursdays 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM, and located at the Laguna Grande Regional Park at 1259 Canyon Del Rey Blvd in Seaside, CA 93955. For more information, visit https://www.everyonesharvest.org/seaside-certified-farmers-market/ or https://www.everyonesharvest.org/.

South County

King City Community Walking Moai Launch

In partnership with the City of King, BZP helped launched a community walking moai. Last year's was such a success that the city wanted to do it again this year! This time the walk will be taking place from June to October, every single Thursday at 6PM. The whole family is welcome to join. The walk starts in Town Square. Come join us for a chance to move naturally, meet your community, enjoy giveaways and light snacks!

 

Soledad Hike & Wine

The Hike & Wine series continues to be a big hit. Thank you to Valley Farm Management and CRU Winery for leading the monthly hikes, second Sunday of every month until October. Come enjoy the scenic views, the hike starts at 9AM. Space is limited so please be sure to register online!

King City Sun Street Centers Cooking Demo

Blue Zones Project was invited to do a cooking demonstration for the Sun Street Centers youth during their summer retreat. Students learned how to make a tasty and easy garbanzo salad and a homemade salad dressing. We hope the students felt inspired to learn and cook at home!

 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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June 2024

June Events | Eventos de junio

 

Become a BZP Ambassador!

 

Visit our Eventbrite page to register for a training session.

EVENTS RECAP

Salinas 

Mother’s Day Hike

We started Mother’s Day weekend with a fun family-friendly hike! The hike was at Creekside Terrace Trailhead and we had many moms and people in our community who wanted to meet new people and enjoy the fresh air. 

Salinas Soccer Complex Clean-Up

We had a great volunteer event with one of our incredible partners. It's a great opportunity for anyone to come out and support the wonderful Salinas Soccer Complex and make it shine. We invite you to join us on our next clean-up, we are looking for volunteers to support the next one.

Peninsula Cities

Spring Into Wellness – Monterey

In collaboration with the City of Monterey and Monterey Recreation, we hosted a family-friendly event where we had a Zumba class and a Pilates class for seniors. A great opportunity to connect and move naturally. 

 

South County

Cooking Demos - Greenfield & Gonzales

Our team hosted two cooking demos in South County, one for teen moms in partnership with Sun Street Centers and one for seniors in partnership with Alliance on Aging.  By sharing some simple, plant-based meals, we can encourage our community to make healthier choices easier.

Family Celebration & Women Empowerment Fair - Greenfield

Some wonderful events took place in Greenfield this past month, we were able to join in on the fun at a Family Celebration and Women Empowerment Fair. We shared our BZP resources and some fun family activities.

Block Party - King City

We finished off the month of May in King City during their Block Party hosted by the King City Police Department. There was music, fun activities and giveaways. It was a great opportunity to connect with the community of King City.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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May 2024

May Events | Eventos de mayo

 

Wellbeing Practices

Just as we care for our physical well-being, nurturing our mental health is crucial for overall wellness. It impacts how we think, feel, and act, influencing every aspect of our lives. By prioritizing mental health, we cultivate resilience, enhance relationships, and improve our ability to cope with life's challenges. Let's break the stigma, foster understanding, and make mental health a priority in our lives and communities.

EVENTS RECAP

Salinas

Community Health Day

Thanks to the collaboration of Salinas Valley Health, The Soccer Complex, and Blue Zones Project, we orchestrated an extraordinary Health Day at the Soccer Complex. Taking advantage of a bustling soccer Sunday, we engaged with a broader swath of the Salinas community. It was immensely gratifying to interact with attendees and discuss health matters. In addition to informative sessions, we organized a community clean-up effort to maintain the pristine condition of the complex. These clean-up initiatives have consistently yielded positive results, and on this day, their significance was underscored. Witnessing families diligently gather their trash and responsibly dispose of it was truly heartening.

 

Salinas Certification Week April 21-25

Throughout this week, our central team and representatives from Blue Zones LLC visited Salinas to evaluate the remarkable progress we've made over the years. We engaged in discussions with key stakeholders, including the Salinas Soccer Complex, The Salinas Rotary, CHISPA, Salinas Libraries, Rancho Cielo, SVH, City of Salinas, YMCA, University Park, and the Creekside Moai, which has been ongoing for two years. It was an intensive yet gratifying week, as we showcased our strong partnerships and discussed our collective commitment to sustaining and advancing our efforts in the years ahead.

 

Volunteer Appreciation Event

We were privileged to honor the dedicated volunteers who have steadfastly supported our initiatives for many years. Volunteering not only enriches communities but also fosters new connections and friendships. During this special event, we recognized several outstanding individuals: Adrienne Laurent, recipient of the BZP Pioneer Award; Karina Rusk, honored with the BZP Advocate Award; The Rangel Family, recipients of the Familia Award; Linnea Carlton, recognized with the BZP Excellence Award; and Vivian Leyva, recipient of the Right Outlook Award. We expressed heartfelt gratitude to them for their unwavering support, as well as to all community members who have contributed to the success of our project.

     

 

South County

Hike & Wine

The hike & wine series continues at Valley Farm Management at CRU Winery in Soledad! Everyone enjoys connecting, getting some fresh air and moving naturally. This will be a monthly hiking moai series for the next 8 months (until October), taking place the second Sunday of every month at 10AM. Join us!

 King City Community Walking Moai

Stay tune as we get ready to launch a community walking moai with the City of King. The walk is expected to launch on the 6th of June. More details to come soon!

Peninsula Cities

Other Brother Beer Co Approval Celebration – Seaside 

It’s our pleasure to welcome Other Brother Beer Co to the BZP family as they have recently become a recognized participating organization. In honor of their celebration, Other Brother Beer Co donation a portion of their beer pint sale to a local nonprofit organization. Cheers to another wonderful partnership!

 

Interim, Inc. Walking Moai Celebration

On Monday, April 15, Interim, Inc. celebrated the completion of its 10-week Walking Moai. Its team gathered again to walk along El Estero Park, but they hoped it won’t be their last! We love to see their commitment to their well-being and one another.

 

Seaside Walking Moai

The City of Seaside Walking Moai celebrated the completion of its 10-week Walking Moai! Although most of the members could not attend due to other commitments, the small but mighty group had a fun time walking together, enjoying each other's company and the wonderful weather!

Seaside Earth Day Celebration

We enjoyed participating in the City of Seaside's annual Earth Day celebration! We had many great interactions with community members and were happy to share the BZP Story with all of them!

 

 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

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April 2024

April Events | Eventos de abril

 

EVENTS RECAP

Salinas

Salinas Soccer Complex Clean-Up

Being back after all the rain, our partnership with the soccer complex continues, and we were very excited to be back and clean up the soccer complex. Like we all know, the soccer complex is known for all the games that happen on the weekends and the practices during the week, so we just want to make sure it is always looking great for anyone who goes. Keep a look out for the next clean up so you can come and support.

South County

Hike & Wine Series Launch

This past March, we launched a very successful hiking series with Valley Farm Management at CRU Winery in Soledad! We had over 30 participants attending & everyone had a great time connecting, getting some fresh air and moving naturally. This will be a monthly hiking moai series for the next 8 months (until October), taking place the second Sunday of every month. Join us!

Peninsula Cities

El Susto Screening 

In collaboration with the City of Seaside, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, and Dual Language Academy, we screened El Susto, a documentary highlighting the impact of the sugar-sweetened beverage industry in Mexico and diabetes type II. We had over 20 participants learn how their environment can impact Diabetes II and how they can prevent it.

 

Interim, Inc. Walking Moai

On Monday, March 11th Interim, Inc. celebrated their 5th week of their Moai. Their team continues gathering and walking along El Estero Park regardless of the weather! We love to see their commitment to their well-being and one another.

Seaside Walking Moai

The City of Seaside Walking Moai celebrated their 5^th week walking together! Participants are going strong and continue to enjoy a lovely walk with a beautiful view of Monterey Bay from the hillsides of Seaside. The group meets every Sunday in the parking area near General Jim Moore Blvd and Eucalyptus Rd. New members are always welcome!

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

Todos los eventos de BZP son GRATUITOS

Thai is Fun Recognized Participating Organization Celebration

Goi was first introduced to the original Blue Zones research by watching the “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones” Netflix documentary series. Soon after, she met the Executive Director of Blue Zones Project Monterey County and was delighted to learn that ThaiIsFun (Thai cooking class) has been promoting healthy eating, which is aligned with the Power 9 Principles of Healthy Living.

Goi began her partnership with the Blue Zones project by hosting the BZPMC Food Environment team for a Thai Cooking class in November 2023. Goi attended a BZPMC cooking demonstration in November 2023 and led a cooking demonstration for a Monterey worksite the following month.

Goi includes several plant-based recipes in her menu and accommodates vegan and vegetarian diets. In her classes, Goi encourages natural movement by leading stretching exercises before class and getting students involved in the preparation of the dishes. Thai Is Fun became a Recognized Participating Organization on March 12, 2024. The recognition was celebrated with friends, family, and BZPMC staff on March 29, 2014. Blue Zones Project Monterey County is thrilled to have Thai is Fun join the community of recognized participating organizations promoting wellbeing in our county.

If you would like more information on how your organization can be a part of the movement, click the link below:

REGISTER YOUR ORGANIZATION 

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March 2024

March Events | Eventos de marzo

 

Salinas

Creekside Trails 2-Year Walking Moai Celebration 2/8

This walking moai has been meeting for two years and have been on many adventure walks. The group try their best to continue to meet once a week or sometimes even more and go on their walk.  During their celebration they could not even believe that it had already been two years, the group has made such a great connection with one another, and two years went by very fast. If you or someone you know would like to start a walking moai reach out to us so we can help, get you started.

 

Gabilan Library Cooking Demo 2/29

During Heart Health Month we wanted to do something that was different for the community. We did not just want to have a regular cooking demo; we wanted the community to participate. So, this time around we did a healthy snack board, for this demo we had strawberries, black berries, Manchego cheese, mixed nuts, dark chocolate, crackers, and demonstrated how to make an olive tapenade. We had the participants come and create their own board and then had a fun talk with everyone.

 

Peninsula Cities

Seaside Walking Moai Launch 2/11

The City of Seaside Walking Moai launch was a great success and a wonderful way to see people connect and move naturally. With over 20 participants, people enjoyed a lovely walk with a beautiful view of Monterey Bay from the hillsides of Seaside. The group meets every Sunday in the parking area near General Jim Moore Blvd and Eucalyptus Rd. New members are always welcome!

 

Interim, Inc. Walking Moai Launch 2/12

Interim, Inc. embodies Blue Zones Project Power 9! They’re helping their staff members make the healthy choice the easy choice by recently becoming a Recognized Organization and starting a Walking Moai that allows their team to connect outside of an office setting. Over 10 colleagues gathered and walked along El Estero Park on a sunny yet chilly day.

 

South County

Senior Chair Yoga Launch 2/3

With support of the City of Gonzales, we were able to launch an 8-week session of senior chair yoga with BZP Ambassador, Viviann Leyva, who started out as a BZP volunteer and is now offering these classes free to the community. Great attendance thus far! The group meets on Saturdays from 9AM-10AM until March 23, 2024 at the Vosti Center in Gonzales.

Healthy Snack Board Demo 2/22

18 Participants joined and learned how to transform a traditional charcuterie board into a healthy snack board demo, full of heart-healthy snacks. Attendees were able to learn how to make a delicious Olive Tapanade to pair. And in honor of Heart Health Month & Valentine's Day, we made sure the snacks were red - strawberries, raspberries, red apples!

 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

Todos los eventos de BZP son GRATUITOS

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February 2024

February Events | Eventos de febrero

January Events Recap

MLK Day of Service - Salinas

The Blue Zones Project team decided to invite the entire community and dedicate a day of service for MLK Day on January 15th. We decided to meet at Natividad Creek Park in Salinas, all the volunteers went around the park and clean as much as we could. We also worked on the community garden and had a great morning of meeting new people and volunteering in our community.

 

Community Volunteer Day at Locke Paddon Park – Marina

In collaboration with the City of Marina, Citizens for Sustainable Marina (C4SM) and a group of brave volunteers joined forces and weathered the rain to beautify Locke Paddon Park by weeding, transplanting native plants, and planting native plants; this event was a BIG success due to strategic outreach supported by BZP.

 

City of Greenfield Walking Moai Celebration - Greenfield

With the collaboration of the City of Greenfield, we celebrated the completion of a 10-week walking moai in Greenfield.  The community had a wonderful time connecting for all these weeks and building on the habit of walking regularly. We had some committed individuals that joined every single walk, including the City Mayor and his wife. Grateful for the community's commitment to well-being and longevity!

Walk & Learn - Salinas

On Saturday Jan 27^th we had our first Walk and Learn in Salinas with collaboration of the Salinas Regional Soccer Complex and Natividad Hospital. We had Dr. Arias come and educate us on the importance of exercise, no matter when you do it in the morning, afternoon, or at night it is important to add some exercise to our everyday busy life. Then we took a few laps around the soccer complex, which is open to the entire community to use whenever you can, if the parking structure is closed you can always park at Natividad hospital or at Veterans Park and walk over. Also, when looking into your everyday life know that we can make those little changes like having walking meetings or parking our car a little further away.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

Todos los eventos de BZP son GRATUITOS

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January 2024

January Events | Eventos de enero

 

December Events Recap

Community Volunteer Day at Lincoln Cunningham Park – Seaside

In collaboration with the City of Seaside, Friends of Seaside Parks (FOSPA), and a group of volunteers joined forces by beautifying Lincoln Cunningham Park by collecting trash, weeding, and planting native plants; this event was a BIG success due to strategic outreach supported by BZP.

TAMC Traffic Garden & Bike Rodeo - King City 

We celebrated the grand opening in King City of a traffic garden at San Antonio Park. In collaboration with Ecology Action, TAMC now has traffic gardens throughout the county to encourage cycling for children. BZP has been a strong supporter and advocate about this project to encourage natural movement.

Senior Loteria y Lonche - Salinas

We celebrated the end of year with the lovely elders of Los Abuelitos Apartments in Salinas. It's been a great place for BZP to go and talk with the elders and connect over loteria. The workers have even mentioned that they have seen more participation from 'los abuelitos' that never leave their space than they have in a long time. The goal for BZP is to share with the residents the power 9's and focus on friends at 5 and connection.

Holiday Themed: Cooking Demo with Kids Eat Right - Greenfield 

BZP collaborated with Kids Eat Right on a family cooking demo in Greenfield. We helped teach kids and their families how to cook healthier during the holidays. Participants were very engaged and learned how to cook a healthy chocolate pudding and 'ponche'.

All Things New Church Recognized Celebration - Monterey

Congratulations to All Things New Church on becoming a BZP Recognized Organization! Church members are excited about their church being a part of the BZP family and what that means for them all. "Our faith tradition is centered around the person of Jesus, who claimed he came to give life abundant to the world. The Blue Zones Project is all about abundant life! As our faith community seeks the renewal Jesus offers, it makes perfect sense for us to collaborate with like-minded people who desire abundant life for all."

BZP Committee Holiday Breakfast

We ended the year celebrating with our BZP supporters during our holiday breakfast. Everyone had a wonderful time and really enjoyed it. We were able to thank our committee members and community partners for all their support this last year. We also debuted and gifted our very own local BZP cookbook! Stay tuned for a digital version available to all - soon!

   

 

   

 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

Todos los eventos de BZP son GRATUITOS

___________

December 2023

 

December Events | Eventos de diciembre

 

November Events Recap

Community Volunteer Day at Laguna Grande Park – Monterey

In collaboration with the City of Monterey and Sun Street Centers, and 20 volunteers joined forces in honoring the Great American Smokeout Day by beautifying the Laguna Grande Park by collecting tobacco litter; despite the weather, this event was a BIG success due to strategic outreach supported by BZP.

 

 

 

Walk & Learn: Diabetes Awareness – Seaside

In collaboration with the City of Seaside and CHOMP/Montage Health, this event was led by a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist Leslie Pinkerton. She spoke on how to embrace a healthier lifestyle during Diabetes Awareness Month.

 

National Take a Hike Day - Countywide

Celebrated National Take a Hike Day by hosting 3 walks in Monterey County to promote natural movement. Every year it is well received and allows community members to connect and form new friendships and new walking moais! Special thank you to our BZP Ambassador and Walking Moai leader, Anne Vallone, for leading one of the walks in Marina.

Cooking Demo - Gonzales

With guest Chef Anthony, we were able to engage the Gonzales community to teach that healthy recipes tt are good and easy to prepare. participants all got the opportunity to participate and help create their own dish

Walk With a Doc - Salinas 

39 individuals participated at the Walk With a Doc in collaboration with Salinas Valley Health for Diabetes Awareness Month. It was insightful listening to an expert talk about Diabetes and giving participants the opportunity to ask any questions and receive tips.

Happy Holidays from the BZP Team!

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

Todos los eventos de BZP son GRATUITOS

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November 2023

November Events | Eventos de noviembre

Upcoming Purpose Workshops (English Only)

Events Recap

 

Community Volunteer Workday at Oak Woodland Community Garden – Locke Paddon Park in Marina

In collaboration with Citizens for Sustainable Marina (C4SM), BZP, and over 40 volunteers joined forces in beautifying the community garden by collecting pulling weeds, repotting native plants, watering dozens of plants, and painting rocks; this was a BIG success due to strategic outreach supported by BZP.

En colaboración con Citizens for Sustainable Marina (C4SM), BZP y más de 40 voluntarios unieron fuerzas para embellecer el jardín comunitario recolectando basura, trasplantando plantas nativas, regando docenas de plantas y pintando rocas; esto fue un GRAN éxito debido al alcance estratégico apoyado por BZP.

City of Monterey Truck or Treat

BZP participated in the City of Monterey’s 2nd annual Truck or Treat and Movie at the Park event. We were able to provide a health option of fruit to the participating trick-or-treaters, and we were able to engage with over 50 parents by giving them know more about BZP and some of our free community events.

BZP participó en el 2º evento anual Truck or Treat and Movie at the Park de la Ciudad de Monterey. Pudimos ofrecer una opción saludable de fruta a los participantes que salían a pedir dulces, y pudimos interactuar con más de 50 padres dándoles más información sobre BZP y algunos de nuestros eventos comunitarios gratuitos.

Launch of Castroville Farmers Market

Thanks to the invaluable partnership with Everyone's Harvest and generous financial backing from Blue Zones Project Monterey County, the Castroville Farmers Market will extend a warm welcome to EBT/CalFresh beneficiaries. As an added benefit to the market, a new $15 Market Match program will create an opportunity for CalFresh users to double their purchasing power. For every $15 spent using an EBT card, consumers will have the ability to of acquire $30 worth of wholesome locally grown produce.

Gracias a la asociación con Everyone's Harvest y al generoso respaldo financiero del Proyecto de Zonas Azules del Condado de Monterey, el Mercado de Agricultores de Castroville dará una cálida bienvenida a los beneficiarios de EBT/CalFresh. Como un beneficio adicional para el mercado, un nuevo programa Market Match de $15 creará una oportunidad para que los usuarios de CalFresh dupliquen su poder adquisitivo. Por cada 15 dólares gastados con una tarjeta EBT, los consumidores tendrán la posibilidad de adquirir 30 dólares en productos saludables cultivados localmente.

Ciclovia Salinas

What a successful event in Salinas to promote natural movement with walking and cycling. It was a great opportunity to promote BZP events with the community and all the resources we offer. We were able to see so many families and friends out together, and we engaged with over 115 individuals!

Qué evento tan exitoso en Salinas para promover el movimiento natural con caminatas y ciclismo. Fue una gran oportunidad para promover los eventos de BZP con la comunidad y todos los recursos que ofrecemos. Pudimos ver a tantas familias y amigos juntos, ¡y nos relacionamos con más de 115 personas!

King City Healthy Cooking Demo

Eating healthy does not need to be boring, it's just a matter of a little creativity! Over 20 participants enjoyed learning how to make a healthy dish in King City last month. There is great momentum in King City and we are so happy to see the community and excited to be a part of BZP and attend our events.

Comer sano no tiene por qué ser aburrido, ¡solo es cuestión de un poco de creatividad! Más de 20 participantes disfrutaron aprendiendo a preparar un plato saludable en King City el mes pasado. Hay un gran impulso en King City y estamos muy contentos de ver a la comunidad y emocionados de ser parte de BZP y asistir a nuestros eventos.

City of King Community Walking Moai Celebration

We had a very successful walking moai in King City, with high number of attendance every week for 6 weeks! The community was very happy to be able to join this event, in collaboration with the City. There were a lot of fun giveaways and healthy foods to try. The community was able to connect and make new friends!

¡Tuvimos un moai de caminata muy exitoso en King City, con un gran número de asistencia cada semana durante 6 semanas! La comunidad se mostró muy contenta de poder unirse a este evento, en colaboración con la Ciudad. Hubo muchos obsequios divertidos y alimentos saludables para probar. ¡La comunidad pudo conectarse y hacer nuevos amigos!

Visit our Eventbrite page to see all our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

Visita nuestra página de Eventbrite para ver todos nuestros próximos eventos: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

Todos los eventos de BZP son GRATUITOS

_____________

October 2023

Become a Purpose Workshop Facilitator!

For the first time in over four years, we are excited to offer free purpose workshop facilitator training for community leaders to equip them with the skills to guide others in uncovering their own gifts and purpose.

Interested? Email genevieve.leblanc@sharecare.com with the subject “Purpose Workshop Facilitator Training” to receive the form to apply.

Deadline: November 20th, 2023.

Interviews to select facilitators will take place in December 2023

Events Recap

 

Walk, Bike & Run with City of King

 

We launched our first community walking moai with the City of King early September and it has been such an incredible success! With over 90 attendees at our launch date! Each week thus far continues to have a great turn out. Everyone has so much fun and are able to enter to win various giveaways. Come join us every Wednesday at 6PM until Oct 25!

 

Community Volunteer Workday at Del Monte Beach in Monterey

 

 

In collaboration with Communities for Sustainable Monterey County, BZP, and over 30 volunteers joined forces in beautifying Del Monte Beach by collecting 100 lbs. of trash; this was a BIG success due to strategic outreach supported by BZP.

 

Community Hike & Wine in Soledad

 

Our last community Hike & Wine at the Vineyards had great turn out of over 46 participants attend our joint event with CRU Winery at Valley Farm Management. We know how much the community has enjoyed these hike & wine events, so we are looking for new collab opportunities with them in the upcoming months!

 

MLK Sculpture Garden Opening in Marina

 

BZP participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Martin Luther King Jr. sculpture in Locke Paddon Park, located in Marina. With over 800 community members in attendance, participants enjoyed learning about the work the BZP is doing in the Peninsula Cities. Attendees interacted with us by spinning the prize wheel or rolling the movement dice that allowed everyone to win a prize!

Salinas Soccer Complex Clean-Up

We collaborated with BZP Approved Worksite Leavitt Insurance Group and BZP Participating Organization, Salinas Regional Sports Authority on a Soccer Complex clean-up. Over 53 individuals showed up to the last clean-up of the year! Such a great annual collaboration and we look forward to next year's season. 

October Events

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

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September 2023

We are searching for volunteers!

Join the movement for a healthier, happier Monterey County!

Are you ready to make a positive impact in our community and lead a life of purpose? Look no further! Blue Zones Project is all about transforming our community into a place where making healthy choices is easy and natural. We're on a mission to help everyone live longer, happier lives by creating a healthier environment for all.

Why Volunteer with Us? 

Change Lives: Your efforts directly impact the health and well-being of our neighbors, friends, and family.

Learn and Grow: Gain valuable skills, knowledge, and experiences while working with a dynamic team of change-makers.

Be Part of Something BIG: Join a movement dedicated to improving well-being and creating healthier communities. 

Community Connection: Forge lasting friendships and create a stronger, more connected Monterey County.

Feel Good: Experience the joy that comes from helping others and contributing to a better future.

To show our appreciation, those that volunteer during our busy season these next two months, will receive a Blue Zones Project insulated tote bag and cutting board!

If you would like to volunteer and help us lead BZP events or any specific outreach events, please visit our:

Sign Up Genius

September Events

Events Recap

During National Night Out, Blue Zones Project had the opportunity to connect with over 160 individuals countywide! We were able to engage with families, share our BZP resources & do fun BZP activities!

This past months' Community Hike & Wine in Soledad had a great turn out of over 44 participants! This joint event with CRU Winery at Valley Farm Management has been such a hit and we are glad you are all enjoying it! We look forward to collaborating on a few more hikes during the upcoming months. 

Thank you to everyone that attending our August Purpose Workshop at the Monterey Public Library. It was an enlightening and inspiring workshop. Everyone was very engaged and left with feeling motivated and with a Right Outlook.

Did someone say tacos? Yes, we did! Our Taco Tuesday Cooking Demo at El Gabilan Library in Salinas was a success. We had a full house and everyone had the chance to try some delicious Tofu Tacos Al Pastor, prepared and led by Chef Gerado Juarez from BZP Approved Restaurant, La Cantina Brewery. Be on the lookout for more cooking demos.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

__________

August 2023

We are searching for volunteers!

If you would like to volunteer and help us lead BZP events or any specific outreach events, please visit our:

Sign Up Genius

August Volunteer Opportunities

Moving Naturally with BZP

Summer is in full swing, and we've been taking advantage of the nice weather to explore the outdoors.

We've enjoyed our Summer Hiking Series with Park Ranger Tammy at Creekside Terrace Trailhead in Salinas. Join our last hike on August 12, which will also be a trail clean-up.

Seniors from CHISPA housing have enjoyed connecting and moving naturally with BZP, not to mention doing downshifting activities such as painting and playing BZP loteria. 

Thank you to the almost 40 volunteers that came out to help clean-up the Salinas Regional Soccer Complex! Great turn out and we collected over 100lbs of trash! We saw some great representation from 831 Niner Empire, Alisal High School, Sacred Heart School, Montage Health, Bank of America, Sunstreet Centers, Salinas High School.

In Monterey we Fleet Feet has been an incredible BZP champion leading another fun and successful walking moai in Monterey.

Additionally, BZP participating in the Monterey Pride by walking in the parade & doing a hula hoop activity! Thank you to those that joined us! We love seeing the community come together to support one another.

A fun day spent at Oak Woodland Community Garden in Marina. Lot's of hard-working hands volunteered to re-plant, clean and beautify the garden. 

We celebrated the 4th of July by giving back to the community and volunteering to clean-up the Del Monte Beach in Monterey the day after the festivities. Shoutout to Montage Health employees & the community that collected over 70lbs of trash and over 150 cigarette buds!

In South County, we had the pleasure of hosting a Hike and Wine at CRU Winery with Valley Farm Management. These hikes have been a great hit this summer, always selling out. We have a few more coming up in the upcoming months, so sign up before space runs out!

All these events this past month have been a wonderful opportunity to connect with our community through natural movement. We hope to see you at an upcoming event!

Business Excellence Award Winners

We are thrilled and honored to be one of the 36th Annual Monterey Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards winner! Thank you to everyone that nominated Blue Zones Project and voted for us for the Healthcare Wellness and Senior Services. 

This award is for YOU and for helping us make Monterey County a healthier, happier place to live. <3 

August Events

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

All BZP events are FREE!

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July 2023

Walking Moai Anniversary!

Congratulations to the Marina 822 Walking Moai for celebrating TWO years of walking! This Moai is truly inspirational. We have seen many friendships flourish, lots of steps taken, wellbeing improvements and lots of furry friends. Thank you to the beloved Anne Vallone for being a wonderful leader and making healthier choices easier and fun for her moai, which keeps people motivated to keep walking!

Be a Walking Moai Leader!

Do you want to get more involved in your community while getting your steps in? We are looking for people interested in leading Walking Moai groups this summer and fall, all throughout Monterey County! If you are interested, please email cindy.ruiz@sharecare.com

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers!

If you would like to volunteer for any specific outreach events, please visit our:

Sign Up Genius

_________

June 2023

Fleet Feet Walking Moai Celebration

Congratulation to the Sunday Morning Movers for completing their walking moai! Special shoutout to Michelle Overmeyer for being an amazing leader. If you are interested in joining a walking group check out Fleet Feet – Monterey and their 10-Week Walking Program: https://www.fleetfeet.com/s/monterey/training/10-week-walking-program

The Seaside Farmer’s Market is BACK!

Blue Zones Project, City of Seaside, and Everyone’s Harvest worked hard to advocate and coordinate return of the farmer’s market. The grand opening on June 15^th was a huge success! The market accepts CalFresh/EBT, Market Match, WIC, and Senior FMNP Coupons.   The event takes place every Thursday from 3-7pm in Laguna Grande Park. If you want to get involved or have questions inquire at info@everyonesharvest.org 

Park Beautification Event at Lincoln Cunningham Park

Blue Zones Project hosted with our community partners Sustainable Seaside, Friends of Seaside Parks, and the Environmental Commission. We had over 65 people from our community show up to clean up trash, learn about pollinators, provide input into the future design of the park, and tend to the pollinator garden. 

Summer Hiking Series with Ranger Tammy

We've enjoyed hiking this summer with Park Ranger Tammy! This past month we had the community came out with Blue Zones Project to learn about the flora and fauna of Creekside Terrace Trailhead, all while moving naturally and making new friends. It's been a fun and successful collaboration, this is the second year we do this, and we are glad the community is loving it!

Family Fun Day at the Salinas Soccer Complex

We had the pleasure of collaborating with BZP Recognized Organization, Salinas Regional Sports Authority and community partner, Ecology Action, on a fun family day at the Salinas Regional Soccer Complex. Families had the opportunity to move naturally together by walking around the complex or playing a friendly game of soccer. There were even some fun prizes like a scooter and skateboard, thanks to Ecology Action. We also had the pleasure of being joined by BZP Approved Worksite, Salinas YMCA to come out and support us too!

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers!

If you would like to volunteer for any specific outreach events, please visit our:

Sign Up Genius

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May 2023

We had so many wonderful events this past month, connecting with our community and moving naturally. Here are just a few of the many events. We hope to see you at a future BZP event (link below for full list of upcoming events in June!)

Spring into Wellness: Community Event

We celebrated the end of spring in the City of Seaside with a wonderful wellness event. We had great organizations and community partners come out and support, including our three sponsors, Salinas Valley Health, Taylor Farms and Montage Health. It was amazing to see the community come together and support making healthy choices easier. Thank you to all our incredible staff, volunteers, vendors, the City Mayor Ian Oglesby and City Council members who attended, including the CSUMB Women Soccer, TAMC Monterey, Ecology Action, Kids Eat Right, Monterey Bay F.C., Tacos California Grill, and Richard Russel Crossfit.

 

 

 

It’s Taco Tuesday Cooking Demo 

El Gabilan Library in Salinas co-hosted with BZP the most successful BZP cooking demo yet, with over 38 attendees! Thank you to our BZP Approved Restaurant, La Casa del Sazon for teaching us how to make some delicious plant-based tacos. 

 

Senior Walk and Capacity Building with Ecology Action and CHISPA

We had a day well spent with the residents of CHISPA's Los Abuelitos Senior Apartments in Salinas. We started the day with an educational opportunity that included the local councilmember, transportation planners, and public works staff presenting about the built environment infrastructure around the neighborhood. The residents were able to ask questions and express their concerns. We then went on a walk around the neighborhood and finished off the day with some lunch from BZP Approved Restaurant, Culturas Hidalgo y Oaxaca followed by a few Loteria games. 

 

Garden Day in Castroville 

 We helped launch a community garden in Castroville, which was a lot of fun and exciting for local community members. Each participating family also had the opportunity to create a portable garden and 37 families left with a portable garden to grow fresh food at home.

 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers!

If you would like to volunteer for any specific outreach events, please visit our:

Sign Up Genius

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April  2023

Thank You Blue Zones Project Volunteers!

Blue Zones Project hosted their first annual Volunteer Appreciation event. In honor of all of our volunteers, we were able to show our gratitude and appreciation for all the incredible community volunteers that support us and join us in our efforts to make Monterey County a happier and healthier place to live. 

Here are some of our favorite pictures from our volunteers from the last year. <3

         

Salinas Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award

We are thrilled to receive the Salinas Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award! This award is for everyone who has believed in us and has supported Blue Zones Project throughout these last few years. This is YOUR project, and we are honored to serve our community. Thank you!

Earth Day 2023

This year we had a blast celebrating Earth Day all over Monterey County. We attended many wonderful events with incredible organizations all with the goal of taking care of this planet we call home. From festivals to clean-ups, we made Mother Nature our priority, all while connecting with our community and moving naturally. Events included:

• Tatum's Garden Earth Day Festival
• AMOR Salinas Earth Day Festival at Natividad Creek Park
• 12th Annual Seaside Earth Day Celebration
• Castroville Earth Day in collaboration with NMCRPD, Wahini Project and more
  
  

 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers!

If you would like to volunteer for any specific outreach events, please visit our:

Sign Up Genius website

March 2023

 

Feet Fleet Walking Moai Completion

We had the opportunity to celebrate the completion of the Feet Fleet Walking Moai in Monterey. A very strong and mighty group who came together for the last 10 weeks to connect and move naturally. We enjoyed watching the friendships flourish.

 

Community Volunteer Workday at Havana-Soliz

45 attendees joined BZP and FOSPA on a great volunteer day at Havana-Soliz Park in Seaside. BZP has been working to build capacity for FOSPA for over 1 year and this event was a BIG success due to strategic outreach supported by BZP.

 

Connect with Friends at 5

Participants enjoyed learning about the work the BZP is doing in the Community of Seaside. There was an interaction portion with human bingo called, "How do you Power 9?" and it gave everyone the opportunity to interact with one another and meet someone new!

 

AMOR Salinas Alisal Corridor Clean-Up

We had a great opportunity coming together as a community and doing our part for Salinas. We saw wonderful participation from key community leaders such as Steve McShane and his team, Rivas and team, SUBA, Salinas Valley Recycle, Downtown Streets Team & more!

 

National Take Down Tobacco Day

Blue Zones Project teamed up with Sun Street Centers and their STEPS Youth Program to co-host 3 tobacco litter clean-ups throughout Monterey County in order to raise awareness about the harmful affects of tobacco use. Unfortunately due to the weather two clean-ups were postpones but they will be rescheduled. New clean-up dates to come!

 

 

El Susto Film Screening

BZP wanted to increase awareness on Diabetes type 2, share information on education & resources, and create consciousness on the association between consumption of Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) and Diabetes type 2. The documentary featured was "El Susto,” which uncovers the soda industry’s outsized influence in Mexico, its access driven by deep political ties, aggressive marketing campaigns and abuse of power. Thank you to all our partners for helping make this happen.

 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers! If you or someone you know would like to volunteer for any of our outreach events, please follow this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050849a9a922a0f85-bzpevents

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January 2023

We kicked-off 2023 with quite a few exciting BZP events!

Walking Moais 

We launched a new Walking Moai in Monterey with Fleet Feet and had over 20 participants attend the launch. They will continue to meet every Sunday at the Fleet Feed store in Monterey at 10AM until March 5th, feel free to join!

Additionally, the MLK Family Resource Center celebrated the completion of a 10-week Walking Moai, followed by the re-launch of a new one! This is a Spanish-speaking moai made up of a wonderful group of parents who meet every Friday at the MLK FRC at 10AM until the end of March. Let's keep walking!

Purpose Workshops

The new year is a great time to (re)discover our Purpose and we were able to help individuals find theirs during the Marina Wellness Week. We also hosted a purpose workshop for the SVMHS Health Explorer students. 

Cooking Demo

We finished off the month of January with a delicious experience, a cooking demo at the Oldemeyer Center in Seaside! We were THIS close to reaching space capacity, so thank you to everyone at attended. Everyone loved the food and it was great to have Chef Rosario facilitate the cooking demo as a Seaside local. Join us for our next cooking demo on February 23rd in Salinas at the Cesar Chavez Library, featuring chef & owner of Dulce Amanecer, Marie Romero. Visit our Eventbrite below to register.

Farm Day 2023

Farm Day in King City is an experience and event aimed to provides basic, current facts about the agricultural industry of our county, gives students and teachers the opportunity to become familiar with food production, and connects teachers and students with other resources and organizations in Monterey County. Thank you to the Farm Day coordinators for allowing us to be present at this year's Farm Day.

MLK Day of Service

Not even the rain stopped the BZP team from servicing our community on this special day. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledged and fought for systemic change. On this MLK Day of Service, we encouraged you to volunteer to improve your community - whether it's cleaning your neighborhood park, planting a tree or championing policies that make your environment a healthier place to live, work and play. 

 

Thank you to Habitat Stewardship Project of Monterey Bay for inviting us to native plant at Hilltop Park in Marina and the Marina Mayor, Bruce Delgado, for inviting us to the MLK Scultpure Garden Groundbreaking.

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/BZPMCEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers! If you or someone you know would like to volunteer for any of our outreach events, please follow this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050849a9a922a0f85-bzpevents

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December 2022

Join us for a family-friendly event on January 21, 2023!

We are hiring!

Engagement Lead: https://bit.ly/BZPMCHiringEL

Relationship Consultant: https://bit.ly/BZPMCHiringRC

November 2022

Our month was full of a lot of exciting adventures:

National Take a Hike Day

Thank you to everyone that took the time to join us, move naturally and connect with the great outdoors that surrounds the wonderful Monterey County. We had 6 hikes throughout the county of all different levels: at Pinnacles National Park, Badger Hills Trailhead, Palo Corona, Creekside Terrace Trailhead, Moss Landing and Seaside! 

 

 

The Great American Smokeout

This month of November we tied in some of our clean-ups to tobacco litter in honor of the Great American Smokeout - a national campaign to raise awareness about the harmful effect of tobacco & vaping usage. We were able to collect lots of trash and hundreds of cigarette buds. Thank you to all our volunteers who joined us in making our community a cleaner and healthier place to live.

 

Join us at our Winter Wellness: Run, Walk & Roll on Dec 4th! 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/MoCoEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers! If you or someone you know would like to volunteer for any of our outreach events, please follow this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050849a9a922a0f85-bzpevents

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October 2022

Did you know that during some of our volunteer opportunities you get to learn about native plants and bugs? This month at the Gardening Workday in Marina, it was all about planting and caterpillars! Our volunteers have a blast trying to find them, a little bit of Hide and Seek!

 

October is not just known for Halloween but also National Make a Difference Day. We celebrated with our volunteers by hosting a beach cleanup, as well as a Salinas Soccer Complex Clean Up. We filled many buckets of trash and left our community looking better!

We try to have volunteer opportunities county wide to make a difference in the community all year long!

Our next volunteer opportunities:

              Nov 12: Beach Clean Up, Monterey

              Nov 12: Park Clean Up, Seaside

              Nov 15: Tobacco Litter Cleanup, Salinas - Approximately 40 million American adults still smoke, and tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the country. For this clean-up we will be focusing on Tobacco Litter in honor of the national annual event, Great American Smokeout.

              Dec 5: Carr Lake Planting Day, Salinas

              Dec 10: Park & Gardening Workday, Marina

In Moving Naturally, we had a Walking Moai Celebration in Seaside! Our walking group started in the summertime and finished strong! Thanks to our walking leader Judi that kept the team together! 

 

We ended the month with a fun Trick-O-Hike in Partnership with Ventana Wildlife Society! We got to learn about the environment and programs that offer for community members! We also had the opportunity to do a fun Pumpkin Succulent workshop with Master Gardener, Julie Lorenzen at Rancho Cielo. Everyone was able to get creative and take home a cute fall season decor! 

 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/MoCoEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers! If you or someone you know would like to volunteer for any of our outreach events, please follow this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050849a9a922a0f85-bzpevents

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September 2022

Stevenson Day of Service

During our volunteer opportunities we have a blast getting to meet everyone and seeing the great work that is being done in the community. This month we had our first for a couple of things! We had our first afternoon beach clean up in which we had people from all over the county join us on a beautiful Thursday afternoon!

This month we hosted Stevenson High School Day of service at five different locations around the county for this amazing volunteer opportunity. We had students in Castroville, Marina, Seaside, Monterey, and Salinas. These students, rain, or shine got the work done! They were picking up trash, gardening, pulling caterpillars and planting trees for everyone in the community to enjoy.

 

Thank you to all our community partners that made this and all our events possible: North Monterey Recreation and Park District, Citizens for Sustainable Marina, City of Seaside Public Works, City of Seaside Parks & Recreation, Friends of Seaside Parks Association, Sustainable Seaside, Monterey County Resources Conservation District, City of Monterey Park Division, and City of Salinas.

If your high school is interested in collaborating in a service email: bluezonesprojectmontereycounty@sharecare.com 

 

Outreach Events

We were very busy during the month of September engaging with our community. A few of the places you might have seen us at were: Relay for Life Salinas, Oaxaca by the Sea in Seaside, and Back to School Nights across Monterey County schools!

We Stayed Active!

We enjoyed some fun natural movement activities including a Valley Farm Management Hike & Picnic in Soledad and the start of a Natural Movement Series in Gonzales.

Volunteered

Nothing feels better than giving back to our community, and this month we helped beautify various Monterey County locations including, Farallones Park in Seaside, the Salinas Soccer Complex and Del Monte Beach in Monterey.

Ate Wisely

Last but not least, we enjoyed tasty BZP-Inspired dishes during our Wine at 5 event with Tacos California Grill. This was a great opportunity to meet new friends and make social connections.

We also co-hosted BZP food tasting experience with Sabor Latin Fusion in Salinas, where we also celebrated them becoming the FIRST BZP Approved Foodtruck in Monterey County! They have now added 4 delicious BZP-inspired tacos to their menu - a must try!

We finished off our month with a Cooking Demo at James Dean Restaurant in Salinas, led by none other than our BZP Organization Lead and Chef, Antonio Vargas. He taught us how to make one of his favorites BZP-inspired dish - mushroom tacos al mojo de ajo with chipotle crema - a recipe also featured in the fall issue of Edible Monterey Bay! Click here for the recipe. 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/MoCoEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers! If you or someone you know would like to volunteer for any of our outreach events, please follow this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050849a9a922a0f85-bzpevents

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August 2022

Summer Moais!

This month we celebrated a Walking Moai competition! The Maskked Walking Moai Group started in Seaside by the International School of Monterey. They have been able to enjoy trails around the coast. The ten weeks flew by, and they walked around 20 miles each in this journey! Congratulations to you all!

We want to also congratulate the Acosta Plaza Walking Moai in Salinas for completing their 10 weeks (and counting) of walking more than 10 hours! The Acosta Plaza community is looking to get more involved and find new ways to focus on their wellbeing. Keep moving naturally!

 

August is also the last month of full summer and our new walking group in Seaside is here to enjoy it! Every Wednesday at 4:30pm, they will be at Laguna Grande Park in Seaside. It is a great time to enjoy the weather and make new friends on this delightful walk. Everyone is welcomed to join them!

We wrapped up a wonderful Happy Trails Summer Hike Series with Park Ranger Tammy in the Fort Ord National Monument in Creekside Terrace Trailhead. During the summer months, Park Ranger Tammy lead interactive hikes with BZP to teach us about the flora and fauna in the area. We learned so much and had lots of fun doing so. Be on the lookout for a spring series. :)

Purpose Workshops

August is also a time for reflection and discovering or rediscovering gifts for a new school year for both faculty and students. We had the pleasure of facilitating two purpose workshops this month, one for Monterey Peninsula College Faculty and one for incoming college freshmen (CAMP) students at CSUMB. We hope you all use your newfound, redefined purpose for a great school year!

Volunteering

Our community events would not be possible without our Volunteer Champions! This month we had a great event at the Oak Woodland Community Garden in Marina. We partner with Citizens for Sustainable Marina to be able to have fun volunteer opportunities for everyone to enjoy. Volunteers learn about seedlings, transplanting, native plants, and watering! It is an event for the entire family to enjoy! Visit our Eventbrite for the next volunteer opportunity!

We also had the opportunity to participate in the quarterly Tatum's Garden Clean Up where we had over 40 participants, a lot of them students from local Salinas schools including: Rancho San Juan High School, North Salinas High School, Salinas High School and Sacred Heart School. We were able to pick up litter, clean the benches and picnic tables, put new books into the community library and much more!

 

In Salinas, we finished the month strong with our monthly Salinas Soccer Complex Clean Up. We had a lot of fun enjoying a lovely Tuesday afternoon. We were joined by the 831 Niner Empire who constantly like to give back to their community and show up to volunteer together. We have 2 more clean ups left for the season before the soccer complex closes for the winter!

Ambassadors / Community Event

The peninsula cities team finished the month at the West End festival! It was a two-day festival full of music, art, and community! Special shout out to all our VOLUNTEERS that helped us over the weekend! Everyone was able to enjoy the art bike and be able to take art home with them. We love seeing everyone is smiling faces! We will be at other community events this upcoming month! To find out how to volunteer with us visit our website for more information!

King City Kickoff!

We celebrated our project expansion to South County by hosting a fun family-friendly event to promote health and wellness by sharing Blue Zones Project experiences. We had a lot of fun meeting people in the community and seeing their enthusiasm! We were able to have fun using the spin art bike, taste bzp-inspired dishes and learn more about local organizations in the community. Not to mention we were able to raffle off some wonderful prizes including an new bike to encourage natural movement in King City. We are excited for all the upcoming BZP events in King City!

Gonzales Kickoff!

At the end of August we wrapped up our expansion celebrations in Gonzales! We had a blast moving naturally by dancing, hula hooping and walking around Central Park. We tasted delicious and healthy food from La Plaza Bakery, Luigi's and Pacheco's. El Folklorico Tapatio gave a wonderful performance as well! It was a great way to spend time with the family and connect on a Sunday afternoon. We are excited for all the upcoming BZP events in Gonzales!

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/MoCoEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers! If you or someone you know would like to volunteer for any of our outreach events, please follow this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050849a9a922a0f85-bzpevents

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July 2022

June has come and gone, and Blue Zones Project Monterey County has been busy!

This month we have reached a milestone with a Walking Moai group. They started in 2021 and with their walking leader Anne Vallone, they have walked for a WHOLE year. In celebration, they hosted a potluck in which people brought their favorite dishes, and some were even inspired by the Blue Zones Kitchen cookbook. Congratulations to this Marina Moai group; we hope other groups can do the same! It's all about doing it together.

In the city of Seaside, Blue Zones Project partnered up with the Village Project to host a Nutrition Awakening Workshop. We had a guest speaker from Montage, Josh Rodriguez, a Registered Dietician, who informed us about diabetes and prediabetes. Then after, the Blue Zones Project team, leads cooking demonstrations on a healthy smoothie and healthy collard greens and rethink your drink station. Yummy salads were donated by Taylor Farms for everyone to enjoy. We love being able to provide resources to the community so keep an eye out on our Eventbrite for future events.

Park Ranger Tammy led another successful hike at Creekside Terrace. We were joined by a lot of enthusiastic individuals and children ready to learn and move naturally! Join us next month for another fun and interactive hike!

 

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/MoCoEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers! If you or someone you know would like to volunteer for any of our outreach events, please follow this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050849a9a922a0f85-bzpevents

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June 2022

We kicked off summer! Thanks to the beautiful weather we have been having there has been so many opportunities to get outside to walk and enjoy mother nature!

This month we had a great walk with Montage Health over at Laguna Grande! Launch our first Walk with a Pastor with Pastor Josh from Bethlehem Lutheran Church over in Monterey. Some of our Walking Moai’s in Marina have even been able to see whales during their walk! Talk about scenery!

A great way to end the month. We had a great gardening workday at Oak Woodland Community Garden in Marina with our friends of Sustainable Marina! Our clean ups are such a great way to get involved with the community. We love supporting Friends of Seaside Parks Association that while they are planting native plants to beautify the parks, we do a community clean up around the park. What is great about the Seaside clean ups is that you start at one park and discover all the amazing neighboring parks that the whole family can enjoy!

In honor of Memorial Day, we had a successful beach clean-up in Monterey. Our volunteers spent their holiday giving back to the community in which they collected over 115+ pounds of trash and recycling!

If you would like to participate in any volunteer opportunities each month, we are in Marina the second Saturday of the Month. Every third Saturday we rotate between parks in Seaside. Visit our Eventbrite page for more information!

In celebration of Mother's Day we partnered with the Bureau of Land Management and Park Ranger Tammy and co-hosted a hike at Creekside Terrace Trailhead in Salinas. We had a wonderful time walking and learning about the area. We then finished off the hike with a little planting activity so everyone could take a little plant home as gift!

 

Lastly, this month, we wrapped up another walking moai celebration at Badger Hills! This moai has formed a strong friendship and that continue to walk and encourage each other to move naturally. Keep it up!

Visit our Eventbrite page to see our upcoming events: https://bit.ly/MoCoEventbrite

We are searching for volunteers! If you or someone you know would like to volunteer for any of our outreach events, please follow this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050849a9a922a0f85-bzpevents

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May 2022

Calling all volunteers! If you'd like to make a difference in your community and help lead events, join our Ambassador Program!

 

To register for our Ambassador Program visit: https://info.bluezonesproject.com/bzpmc-ambassadors

April was a great month to highlight all the amazing volunteers and events we had!

Thanks to the beautiful weather we have been having there has been so many opportunities to get outside to walk! We had two great Walking Moai launch in Marina and in Monterey. This month we also got to walk with Christopher Range, the General Manager of the Montage Wellness Center in the Walk for Health with Montage! The great thing about these walks are the scenery and the beauty of mother nature!

 

We were also able to celebrate the completion of our Salinas SVMHS Walking Moai. A strong group of participants who promise each other to keep going! Thank you to our wonderful leaders Victor Rey, Elena Hermosillo & Bernardita Avila for leading the walks!

Talking about nature we had a great time of all our volunteer events we had this month. We had a great gardening workday at Oak Woodland Community Garden in Marina Sustainable Marina! So much enthusiasm and support from everyone there! Then even with some clouds in the sky, the Havana Soliz Park Clean Up in Seaside volunteers are committed to help! We love supporting Friends of Seaside Parks Association. What is great about the Seaside clean ups is that you start at one park and discover all the amazing neighboring parks that the family can enjoy!

If you would like to participate in any volunteer opportunities each month, we are in Marina the second Saturday of the Month. Every third Saturday we rotate between parks in Seaside. Visit our Eventbrite page for more information!

Lastly, we were at the Salinas Soccer Complex at our monthly clean-up. You can find us here on the last Tuesday of every month!

For Earth Day we were all over Monterey County! The art bike was able to come out and play for two events! One was over at Locke Paddon Park for Marina’s Earth Day Celebration and the other for Seaside’s Earth Day! People enjoy hopping on and be able to make masterpieces on it! Both events were fun for the whole community to enjoy! In Monterey we partnered up with Foolish Times, Old Monterey Business Association and Fisherman’s Wharf Association for cleanup in which we collected over 110+ pounds of trash plus a bowling ball!

We were also at the City of Salinas Earth Day Festival. We were able to not only clean Sherwood Park, but also enjoy entertainment, music and a resource fair afterwards!

 

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April 2022

Spring is in full swing, and March was busy all throughout Blue Zones Project!

Peninsula Cities

We started off by exploring a different but beautiful area at Ft. Ord National Monument in Seaside. In this month’s Walk for Health was with Dr. Ryan Casserly! We learned so many fun health facts about our eyes and ears! There is so many trails to walk and be able to enjoy!

In taking advantage of the time change and the extra hour of sunshine, we took advantage and had so many successful volunteer opportunities in all THREE cities. We started off in Marina in a Gardening Volunteer Day at Oak Woodland Community Garden. Everyone gets to learn about native plants and how to take care of the growing plants, we will be there every SECOND Saturday of the month. Then we moved over to a Laguna Grande Park clean up in Monterey. Our volunteers went through the surrounding community and nearly all around the laguna! Every person we met were thankful for the efforts on keeping the park clean for everyone to enjoy. Moving along over to Seaside and let us tell you, our volunteers are AMAZING. Rain or shine they come out to Capra Park and got the job done!

Salinas

During Ciclovia Salinas, our staff and volunteers spoke to over 300 members of the community and received 248 Personal Pledges! We had a wonderful time meeting people from the community and talking about Blue Zones Project. We were also featured in KION and Telemundo!

The Badger Hills Walking Moai Launch in Salinas was a big success. We now have 8 active participants who are enjoying the longer days and lovely sunsets.

 

After 10 weeks, our Oldtown Salinas Walking Moai has come to a finish. We held a Closing Ceremony on March 18th. Our group wanted to continue the moai so despite the 10 weeks being complete, the walking moai continues!

National Take Down Tobacco Day

Finally, this last weekend of March, Blue Zones Project partnered with the Sun Street Centers in effort to take down tobacco for National Take Down Tobacco Day. We hosted three clean-ups in three different cities of Monterey County - Monterey, Salinas and King City - to raise awareness about the negative affects of tobacco. In just that day alone we collected over more than 1000+ cigarettes butts. We love to see our youth leaders feeling empowered to help their communities.

Our volunteers are one of a kind and we can’t wait to see what National Volunteer Month has in store for us this April!

Visit our Eventbrite page to find out where we are next: https://bit.ly/MoCoEventbrite

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March 2022

February was all about sharing the love with our community and each other.

Peninsula Cities

We started with partnering up with Montage in their Walk for Health. We were over at the Marina Dune Preserve with Physical Therapist Nayomi Monge and learned healthy ways to stretch!

Enjoying a nice walk on the beach with friends and family is always good for the heart. Donna and Anna did that by completing their sunset afternoon Walking Moai at Seaside State Beach.

We showed our community love with two amazing clean-ups! One was at the Del Monte Beach in Monterey in which we were with Sustainable Monterey and the City of Monterey Parks Division. Our volunteers successfully collected around 96 pounds of trash that day!

Then we transitioned to a park and gardening workday at Havana Soliz Park in Seaside with the Friends of Seaside Parks Association. Our volunteers hauled a truck full of weeds to allow space for the new native plants for the park to grow.

Salinas

We had 81 volunteers from Salinas completed 187 hours of service last month! Our top events included:

President’s Day Natividad Creek Park Clean-Up with Blue Zones Project Participating Worksites.  We had 30 volunteers from SVMH, MCOE, Monterey County Health Department WIC, Rancho San Juan High School, Sacred Heart School, Monterey Park Elementary. A great way to continue sustainability with approved worksites within the community & seeing them lead the way to improve the community’s wellbeing. We are building those relationships and fostering social networks.

We hosted a Salinas Soccer Complex Clean-Up with Monterey Bay F.C. 31 volunteers showed up to clean the soccer complex and meet the new Monterey Bay F.C. soccer players. Great start to our partnership with Monterey Bay F.C. and looking to collaborate with them in other areas in the community.

To finish off the month strong, we completed a Badger Hills Hike & Trail Clean-Up with SVMH Staff. 30 volunteers participated at the clean up with the majority being SVMH Staff, continuing that sustainability relationship with the approved worksite & also engaging with the community.

We launched a Walking Moai in Creekside Terrace Trailhead and we have a small but mighty group of 7 seniors attend every week. They are now on week 5 and they are a true inspiration!

February has seem to come and gone to quickly but don’t worry there are so many new opportunities to get involved with Blue Zones Project. Visit our website or Eventbrite to see all of our upcoming events!

Visit our Eventbrite page to find out where we are next: https://bit.ly/MoCoEventbrite

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February 2022

We rolled into the New Year with great ways to engage with the community in Monterey County.

Clean-Ups

We have done two amazing clean ups in Seaside and in Monterey. We kicked it off at Durant Park in partnership with Friends of Seaside Park Association, in which we not just cleaned one park, but three! We also planted California native plants.

We partnered up with Sustainable Monterey, City of Monterey Parks Division and in collaboration with Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce and Monterey Peninsula Young Professionals for a beach clean-up at Del Monte Beach. With the help and support of our volunteers we collected over 200+ pounds of litter this month! We are making sure our community and the places we love stay clean for everyone to enjoy!

We participated at the Santa Rita Park Clean Up & Ground Prepping, where we had 35 volunteers! Though the park was not very dirty, we were able to find items washed and buried from the rain. There was a lot of clearing out of weeds along the fence of Santa Rita Elementary. Now that the ground is cleared, the elementary school students will start seed bombing this area.

Another successful clean-up event took place at Sherwood Elementary school where we had parents, staff and over 120 students participate! The students painted rocks to beautify the school, cleaned the garden, and picked up litter around the school grounds. We ended the day with fun activities, prizes and lunch!

Thanks to Big Sur Land Trust and Return of the Natives, Blue Zones Project and all of our volunteers had an amazing planting day. We learned about native plants, different soil, grass and water. We also connected and moved naturally.

Vaccine Clinics

We participated in Montage Health Vaccine Clinics alongside some of our favorite Disney Princesses and characters and hang out Monterey Bay FC soccer players. 

Walking Moais

Lastly, we began and completed Walking Moais all over the county. Participants share recipes, connect with each other, and find more ways to move naturally.

Incorporating the Power 9 principles gives you the opportunity to find a sense of belonging, put your loved ones first, and find the right tribe to motive you to move naturally.

Visit our Eventbrite page for you to find out where we are next: https://bit.ly/MoCoEventbrite

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January 2022

December was a great month to celebrate and end the year with Blue Zones Project in Monterey County. All of our Walking Moais are still going strong and sharing Blue Zones friendly recipes for the holidays.

We also partnered with Montage Medical Group this month on their ‘Walk for Health’ with Dr. Rock-Willoughby on Dec 11^th. Participants were able to enjoy a lovely hike at Palo Corona Regional Park in Carmel Valley, while being able to ask questions regarding their health. Join us for next month’s Walk for Health on January 22^nd, 2022, registration details: www.montagehealth.org/walkforhealth

In the City of Seaside, we partnered with Friends of Seaside Parks Association for a community clean up at Lincoln Cunningham Park on December 11th. Our small but mighty team collected over two bags of unwanted litter! We plan on continuing to do clean ups in different parts of the city, so be on the lookout on our Eventbrite page if you want to volunteer! Our next clean up in Seaside will be at Durant Park on January 15, register here.

Despite the colder weather, our dedicated community also gathered on December 11th at Valley Farm Management - Paraiso Vineyards for a morning hike moai. We were able to make new friendships while enjoying the beautiful scenery - all while moving naturally!

On December 16, we participated in the Oldtown Salinas Business Expo Block Party. It was lovely to see people in the community walking around and familiarizing themselves with the Oldtown business, as well as giving us the opportunity to share about Blue Zones Project. Our art bike was a big hit and we discovered many artists in the community!

We have also teamed up with local partners to promote safe holidays at local vaccine clinics. We were at Seaside’s Oldemeyer Center for the “Safe for the Holidays” walk-up clinics and recently joined Montage’s Holiday Vaccine Clinic at Embassy Suites in Seaside. We’ve loved interacting with the community, sharing about Blue Zones Project and spinning the prize wheel.

Happy Holidays and stay safe out there!

Make sure to visit our Eventbrite to learn how you can get involved in January!

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November 2021

The month of November brought many wonderful ways to engage with the Blue Zone Project in the Monterey County.

11.02.21 Ryan Ranch Clean Up | We started off with a community clean up event at Ryan Ranch Office Park, co-created with the team from Montage, to encourage natural movement within the life radius of onsite employees.

11.06.21 Tatum's Garden Clean Up | Our volunteers always have a blast at Tatum's garden pulling weeds, sanitizing the playground structure, and other special tasks to continue beautifying this incredible local play area for families. 

11.10.21 Wellness Fair | A well-attended ‘Wellness Fair’ for staff at the Portola Hotel and Spa -who is working towards their Blue Zones Project worksite approval- followed.

11.10.21 - 11.18.21 Walking Moais Launches | November was also a great month for walking in the Peninsula Cities - the gorgeous weather allowed for three new moais to launch in Marina, Monterey and Seaside! Our happy walkers meet weekly at various locations to get moving and make new friends.

11.14.21 Salinas Soccer Complex Clean Up | What an incredible turnout for the last soccer complex clean up of the year. We had great representation from AMOR Salinas, Oasis Charter School, 831 Niner Empire, Alisal High School, Sacred Heart School and Rancho San Juan High School.

11.16.21 E. Alisal Litter Clean Up | An extraordinary result of team work with SUBA Salinas, Ecology Action, Salinas Valley Chamber, City of Salinas and Downtown Streets Team. E. Alisal is a cleaner place thanks to all our volunteers.

11.17.21 National Take a Hike Day | We also celebrated ‘National Take a Hike Day’ by organizing sunrise to sunset hikes around the county including Palo Corona in Carmel Valley, Creekside Terrace in Salinas, and in the Marina Dunes. At lunchtime we organized ‘urban hikes’ in downtown Monterey and Salinas. And we finished off this wonderful day with a sunset stroll on the beach in Seaside and vineyard stroll in Soledad. This will surely become an annual event!

11.20.21 Beach Clean Up | Finally, the month closed with one of our ever-popular beach cleanups at Del Monte Beach in Monterey. Big thanks to our partners at Sustainable Monterey, City of Monterey Parks Division and all the people who turned out to keep our beaches clean!

Make sure to visit our website to learn how you can get involved in December!

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September 2021

09.07.21 Beach Clean up | We had another successful beach clean-up on Tuesday, September 7. We had people of all ages grab a bucket and picker to rid the area of trash. We even found a deserted smashed laptop. The city of Monterey greatly appreciates your time and enthusiasm. Thank you to all who attended.

09.04.21 Lawn Yoga | On Saturday, September 4, we tried something new and hosted a free 45-minute yoga session on the lawn in front of Colton Hall. We were blessed with beautiful sunshine and lots of shade. More than 35 people did series of gentle movement and stretches. It was enjoyed by those new to yoga and the more experienced. A special thank you to the instructor, Ariel Johnson from Strength Monterey, for wonderful experience. We’re hoping to have similar experiences in the future. Stay tuned!

09.09.21 Marina Walking Moai | We kicked off a new walking moai in Marina in early September. The group started at Locke-Paddon Park and then decided to move to The Marina Dunes to take advantage of the beautiful views. They meet Thursdays at 10 am at the Fort Ord State Beach parking lot behind the VA Hospital. Everyone is welcome. Click here to read about the group in a Marina Chamber of Commerce article: https://marinachamber.com/blue-zones-project-monterey-walking-moai-teams-in-marina/

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August 2021

Sherwood Elementary Back to School, Salinas Valley Food & Wine, the Breastfeeding Awareness Walk & Health Fair, and our Drive-In Movie are just some of the events we engaged with our community and were all a success! We love the energy from the kids, parents, and all community members wanting to learn more about Blue Zones Project Monterey County.

Join us and be part of the fun! Visit our booth in one of the upcoming events, or volunteer with us and be the change in your community! https://www.eventbrite.com/o/blue-zones-project-monterey-county

 

 

July 2021

More than 100 volunteers joined Blue Zones Project Monterey County, City of Monterey Parks Division and Sustainable Monterey on Monday, July 5 to help one of our local beaches recover from the holiday weekend. People of all ages scoured Monterey Bay Park and Del Monte Beach with buckets and trash pickers in hand. We are in constant appreciation and awe of our volunteers. Thank you for your enthusiasm and devotion to the community!  

 

 

For more information, please contact Amber Shoebridge Engagement Lead (Peninsula Cities): amber.shoebridge@sharecare.com and Veronica Plascencia (Salinas): veronica.plascencia@sharecare.com

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June 2021

On Saturday, June 5, close to 40 volunteers gathered at Laguna Grande Park to pick up litter. Blue Zones Project Monterey County worked hand in hand with Montage Health to specifically target the event towards employees who wanted to do good in the community away from their desks and/or units.

When neighbors saw the volunteers out cleaning up the park, they came out to join in and asked to be involved in future efforts. Monica Sciuto of Montage Health heard from numerous employees who are looking forward to the next volunteer opportunity.

May 2025

Help Shape a Healthier Monterey County – Take the 2025 Community Health Survey!

 We invite you to share your experiences and insights in the 2025 Community Health Survey. Your feedback drives real change. By participating, you help identify key health challenges and guide solutions that improve the well-being of our community. The results will help local organizations, policymakers, and healthcare providers address the most pressing health needs in Monterey County.

Take the survey here: https://www.unitedwaymcca.org/HealthyMontereyCounty 

Food Policy

Stretch Your CalFresh Dollars in Monterey County

If you're a CalFresh shopper, there are three great ways to get more fruits and vegetables for your money. These programs help make fresh, local food more affordable across Monterey County.

1) Double Up Food Bucks in Grocery Stores in Salinas, Greenfield, and King City

Get 50% off California-grown fruits and vegetables when you use your EBT card—up to $15 in savings per day. Example: Buy $30 worth of produce and only pay $15 using your EBT card.

Participating Locations:

SALINAS

Mercado La Princesa Williams

614 Williams Road,- Open Daily: 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM

La Princesa Market – E. Alisal Street

516 E Alisal Street -Open Daily: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM

Princesa Market – N. Sanborn Rd

950 N Sanborn Road- Open Daily: 7:00 AM – 9:00 PM

El Rey Fresh Produce – E. Alisal Street

201 E Alisal Street- Open Daily: 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM

GREENFIELD

La Princesa Market
401 El Camino Real- Open Daily: 7:00 AM – 9:00 PM

KING CITY

La Princesa Market
620 Broadway Street- Open Daily: 7:00 AM – 9:00 PM

2) Market Match at Everyone’s Harvest Farmers’ Markets

Spend up to $30 with your EBT card and receive an additional $30 in Market Match dollars to spend on fruits and vegetables; that’s $60 of produce for just $30 ON your EBT card!

Market Locations and Hours:

• Monday in PG – 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM (Winter: 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM)

  Central & Grand Avenues, Open Daily

• Tuesday at WIC Salinas– Opens June 3, 2025

  632 E Alisal St, Salinas,Summer Hours: 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM

• Wednesday at Natividad in Salinas– 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM

  Natividad Medical Center, 1441 Constitution Blvd, Salinas (outside Building 200)

• Thursday in Seaside – 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM (March–November)

  3:00 PM to 6:00 PM (November–March)

  Laguna Grande Regional Park, 1259 Canyon Del Rey Blvd, Seaside

• Friday at Salinas Valley Health– 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM (May 9 – November 7, 2025)

  Salinas Valley Health

• Sunday in Marina– 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

  215 Reservation Road, Marina

3) Castroville Farmers’ Market for a 1:2 Market Match!

Thursdays, 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM
North County Recreation Center
11261 Crane Street, Castroville, CA

Spend up to $20 on your EBT card and receive up to $40 free—giving you a total of $60 to spend on fresh produce.

This program is operated by the North County Recreation and Park District in partnership with Everyone’s Harvest.

Note: You must have funds on your EBT card to participate in these programs.

Don’t miss out on those opportunities to stretch your food budget, eat healthy, and support local farmers. We invite you to share with your neighbors, family, and community members!

Built Environment Policy

Help make Monterey County streets and roads safer for everyone. Join us at one of the upcoming community workshops for the Regional Vision Zero Action Plan and share your experiences, concerns, and ideas to help eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on our roads. Workshops are happening across Monterey County this May! Find one near you and share your experience.

Learn more: bit.ly/montereyvz

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April 2025

Food Policy

Have EBT? Get DOUBLE the fresh fruits & veggies! With Double Up Food Bucks in Monterey County, you can save up to $15 per day when you shop with your EBT card. 
Look for the Double Up Food Bucks logo at participating stores.
Pay with your EBT card and get a 50% discount on eligible produce.
Enjoy more fresh, healthy food for your family!

Visit one of our participating Monterey County locations to take advantage of Double Up Food Bucks: in Salinas, Greenfield y King City

Visit our website! www.doubleupca.org/ebtmonterey
Share with a friend who needs to know about this amazing deal!

¿Tienes EBT? ¡Obtén el DOBLE de frutas y verduras frescas! Con Double Up Food Bucks California, puedes ahorrar hasta $15 por día cuando compras con tu tarjeta EBT.
Busca el logo de Double Up Food Bucks en las tiendas participantes.
Paga con tu tarjeta EBT y obtén un 50% de descuento en productos elegibles.
¡Disfruta de más alimentos frescos y saludables para tu familia!

Visite una de nuestras ubicaciones participantes del condado de Monterey para aprovechar Double Up Food Bucks: en Salinas, Greenfield y King City
¡Visita nuestro sitio web! www.doubleupca.org/ebtmonterey
¡Déjale saber a un amigo que necesita saber sobre esta increíble oferta!

Need Food?

Built Environment

The City of Seaside is pleased to share the Draft Climate Action and Adaptation Plan—their first-ever roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, preparing for climate-related risks, and building a more resilient future.

We invite you to review the draft plan and share your feedback. Your input is essential to ensuring the plan reflects the community’s priorities, values, and vision for the future.

Provide comments until April 28th: Review the plan and send comments to our Project Manager, Patrick Marchman, AICP, SCR of Jacob Green & Associates: patrick@jacobgreenandassociates.com

If you have any questions or need assistance accessing the plan, contact Patrick at 206-371-8458

Thank you for your time and continued engagement!

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December 2024

Built Environment

Blue Zones Project Monterey County supports improvements to the built environment that encourage natural movement and equitable access to streets and open space. Salinas’ Alisal Streetscape Master Plan (ASMP) will support the implementation of the Alisal Vibrancy Plan (AVP), specifically advancing a set of goals focused on the design of safe, attractive streets and public spaces that increase access for all residents “whether biking, walking, taking transit, or driving a car.”

Public input has been the foundation of the planning process which has been gathered through community workshops and pop ups, and online comments. The City of Salinas is currently inviting the public to offer feedback on the draft Alisal Streetscape Master Plan. The deadline to share your opinion is Friday, December 20, 2024.

https://www.cityofsalinas.org/files/sharedassets/city/v/2/public-works/documents/traffic-docs/draft-alisal-streetscape-master-plan.pdf

Comments can be sent to Gerardo Rodriguez, Assistant Engineer: transportationdivision@ci.salinas.ca.us List “Alisal Streetscape Master Plan” in your subject line.

The final plan will be used to guide future investments and to help the City secure grant funding for project construction.

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October/November 2024

The Importance of Local Procurement for Sustainable Food Systems

Local procurement plays a crucial role in building sustainable food systems and supporting small-scale farmers. Recently, Blue Zones Project had the opportunity to collaborate with our sponsor Salinas Valley Health (SVH) to enhance hyper-local procurement, focusing on sourcing food from growers within a 10-mile radius. We collaborated with Angeles Carrillo, who cultivates 2 acres at ALBA Farmers, a local farm incubator in the Salinas Valley.

Often, small and medium-scale farmers on the Central Coast grow their crops and sell them to aggregators, who then brand and package the produce from multiple farms for distribution to large institutions and retailers. This model leaves farmers out of the branding and sales process, limiting their ability to build relationships with end-buyers and get fair prices for their hard-earned produce.

However, when small farmers like Angeles can sell directly to institutions, they not only receive better prices but can also engage in crop planning that caters directly to the institution’s needs. It’s a win-win. In this case, Salinas Valley Health (SVH) adapted to the availability and seasonality of the produce, ensuring they could support local agriculture while benefiting from fresh, locally grown food.

A special thanks to Christianna Kearns, and Eric Fierro at SVH for their vision and patience in making this partnership a reality!

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August/September 2024

Food Policy

Support the Seaside Certified Farmers Market

The Seaside Certified Farmers Market happens EVERY Thursday, 3-7pm at Laguna Grande Park, Seaside – YEAR-ROUND! Stock up on your fresh vegetables and enjoy making community connections. See flier and click on links below for some great promotional videos:

English: https://vimeo.com/899311608/03c7eb5080?share=copy

Spanish: https://vimeo.com/899671083/3bc6336e46?share=copy

FREE Produce Boxes are also being distributed at 5pm until supplies last, for people from low-income backgrounds (must show ID/Document as proof, examples: EBT, Medi-Cal, WIC card).

Get Involved with the Monterey County Garden Network

Edible Monterey Bay wrote a nice little article about The Monterey County Garden Network in a recent digital edition. Read it HERE and consider joining our monthly meetings and quarterly garden gatherings. Email mcgardennetwork@gmail.com to be added to the network ListServ and calendar invites.

Tobacco Policy

FREE Tobacco Litter Receptacles

Our friends at Carmel Cares and Keep America Beautiful are looking to collaborate with municipalities and organizations across Monterey County to install tobacco litter receptacles to help keep this harmful waste off our streets and out of our waterways. Collected cigarette butts are then sent to Terracycle to be upcycled into patio furniture! Reach out to tanja.roos at sharecare.com for more information.

Built Environment

Born Learning Trails offer fun for ALL!

Blue Zones Project Monterey County and United Way Monterey County have collaborated with the Cities of Marina, Seaside and the Salinas Regional Soccer Complex to bring Born Learning Trails to our area. These bilingual (English/Spanish) trails offer intergenerational opportunities to support families in utilizing our outdoor spaces in enjoyable, active, and creative ways. See the flier for locations and more details. And follow this link for a great news clip about the trail unveiling in Marina.

Get Outdoors with ParkRx Monterey County!

Visit ParkRxMontereyCounty.org to find outdoor spaces near you, through the searchable mapping tool. Learn more about partner organizations that offer programs designed to connect youth, families, and adults to the natural world. Health care providers across Monterey County are referring patients to the site, to meaningfully improve health outcomes, helping residents in Monterey County live longer, better!

Volunteer to support park beautification and community gardens in Peninsula Cities

 Looking for something to do on your weekends to give back in community? Friends of Seaside Parks Association (FOSPA) has regular Saturday workdays in Seaside parks. Click HERE to see their full schedule. Activities include tending to native plant pollinator gardens and growing food in edible gardens (in select parks). And over in Marina, Citizens4Sustainable Marina (C4SM) are hard at work tending the amazing Oak Woodland Community Garden. Click HERE to get involved.

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July 2024

Food Policy

Support the Seaside Certified Farmers Market

The Seaside Certified Farmers Market happens EVERY Thursday, 3-7pm at Laguna Grande Park, Seaside – YEAR-ROUND! Stock up on your fresh vegetables and enjoy making community connections. See flier and click on links below for some great promotional videos:

English: https://vimeo.com/899311608/03c7eb5080?share=copy

Spanish: https://vimeo.com/899671083/3bc6336e46?share=copy

Monterey County Garden Network in the NEWS!

Edible Monterey Bay wrote a nice little article about the The Monterey County Garden Network in a recent digital edition. Read it HERE and consider joining our monthly meetings and quarterly garden gatherings. Email mcgardennetwork@gmail.com to be added to the network ListServ and calendar invites.

Tobacco Policy

FREE Tobacco Litter Receptacles

Our friends at Carmel Cares and Keep America Beautiful are looking to collaborate with municipalities and organizations across Monterey County to install tobacco litter receptacles to help keep this harmful waste off our streets and out of our waterways. Collected cigarette butts are then sent to Terracycle to be upcycled into patio furniture! Reach out to tanja.roos at sharecare.com for more information.

Built Environment

The City of Marina wants to hear from YOU

The City of Marina invites you to share your input on the proposed land use vision for key areas of the city that may change overtime. To participate, please respond to the online questionnaire linked below: 

English: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/marina-gpu-q2 

Spanish: https://es.surveymonkey.com/r/marina-gpu-landuse-span 

Korean: https://ko.surveymonkey.com/r/marina-gpu-landuse-korean 

We invite you to share these links widely to all your neighbors and fellow community members. Visit the project website to stay up to date on the latest events and milestones.

Born Learning Trails offer fun for ALL!

Blue Zones Project Monterey County and United Way Monterey County have collaborated with the Cities of Marina, Seaside and the Salinas Regional Soccer Complex to bring Born Learning Trails to our area. These bilingual (English/Spanish) trails offer intergenerational opportunities to support families in utilizing our outdoor spaces in enjoyable, active, and creative ways. See the flier for locations and more details. And follow this link for a great news clip about the trail unveiling in Marina.

ParkRx Monterey County website is LIVE!

Visit ParkRxMontereyCounty.org to find outdoor spaces near you, through the searchable mapping tool. Learn more about partner organizations that offer programs designed to connect youth, families, and adults to the natural world. Health care providers across Monterey County are referring patients to the site, to meaningfully improve health outcomes, helping residents in Monterey County live longer, better!

Volunteer to support park beautification and community gardens in Peninsula Cities

Looking for something to do on your weekends to give back in community? Friends of Seaside Parks Association (FOSPA) has regular Saturday workdays in Seaside parks. Click HERE to see their full schedule. Activities include tending to native plant pollinator gardens and growing food in edible gardens (in select parks). And over in Marina, Citizens4Sustainable Marina (C4SM) are hard at work tending the amazing Oak Woodland Community Garden. Click HERE to get involved.

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June 2024

Food Policy

Double your SUNBucks

Many families across Monterey County will receive SUNBucks cards to support purchasing food for their children during the summer months. Learn how you can maximize your SUNBucks and share with others to ensure that all families are aware of this opportunity.

 

Need Food?

Are you struggling to access nutritious food? Explore food resources and programs in Monterey County on the 211 website with a simple text message. Text "FOOD" to 831-215-3342 and unlock resources.

 

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May 2024

Food Policy

Attend an Everyone's Harvest Certified Farmers Market in Monterey County and immerse yourself in a celebration of local flavor, community, and sustainability! Discover fresh produce, artisanal goods, and a vibrant atmosphere that's sure to uplift your spirits. Come be a part of something special. See you at the market! CalFresh/EBT, MarketMatch, WIC and Senior FMNP Coupons accepted. Learn more: https://www.everyonesharvest.org/ 

Built Environment

ParkRx Monterey County website is LIVE!

Visit ParkRxMontereyCounty.org to find outdoor spaces near you, through the searchable mapping tool. Learn more about partner organizations that offer programs designed to connect youth, families, and adults to the natural world. Health care providers across Monterey County are referring patients to the site, to meaningfully improve health outcomes, helping residents in Monterey County live longer, better!

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April 2024

Food Policy

Gonzales Community Garden

On March 09,2024 Gonzales City launched the Community Garden in collaboration with BZP, MCRD, Wings of Knowledge, Save the Whales, Monterey Workforce CADRE program, and community leaders. The space features a great walking path, large garden beds, and a fruit orchard for all to share and enjoy.

 

Support the Seaside Certified Farmers Market

The Seaside Certified Farmers Market happens EVERY Thursday, 3-7pm at Laguna Grande Park, Seaside – YEAR-ROUND! Stock up on your fresh vegetables and enjoy making community connections. See flier and click on links below for some great promotional videos:

English: https://vimeo.com/899311608/03c7eb5080?share=copy

Spanish: https://vimeo.com/899671083/3bc6336e46?share=copy

 

FREE Backyard Gardening “kits”

As part of the Communities for Sustainable Monterey County’s “Our Families Grow Healthy” initiative, FREE backyard gardening kits are available for interested community members. Kit is $300 value, with coaching support included. See flier for more details.

Join the Monterey County Garden Network!

Calling all school, institutional and community garden supporters and champions. The Monterey County Garden Network is a gathering of like-minded folks who care about urban agriculture, empowering people of all ages to grow their own food and increase community food security. Cohosted by the Resources Conservation District of Monterey County and BZPMC, we meet monthly (virtually) and in-person quarterly for FREE workshops and network building. Email mcgardennetwork@gmail.com to be added to the network ListServ and calendar invites.

Tobacco Policy

City of Del Rey Oaks passes smoke free multi-unit housing ordinance

On March 26^th, the Del Rey Oaks Council voted unanimously (5-0) on the second reading of an ordinance that would ban smoking in all current, and future, multi-unit housing complexes within Del Rey Oaks (larger than a triplex). This is notable leadership in a region that will be working hard to meet affordable housing goals, over the next several years- And another strong step in tobacco control by the council, making Del Rey Oaks a happier and healthier place to live, work and play. The ordinance go into place in October, with implementation support from our partners at the Monterey County Health Department and BZPMC.

Built Environment

ParkRx Monterey County website is LIVE!

Visit ParkRxMontereyCounty.org to find outdoor spaces near you, through the searchable mapping tool. Learn more about partner organizations that offer programs designed to connect youth, families, and adults to the natural world. Health care providers across Monterey County are referring patients to the site, to meaningfully improve health outcomes, helping residents in Monterey County live longer, better!

_________________

March 2024

Food Policy

Support the Seaside Certified Farmers Market

The Seaside Certified Farmers Market happens EVERY Thursday, 3-7pm at Laguna Grande Park, Seaside – YEAR ROUND! Stock up on your fresh vegetables and enjoy making community connections. See flier and click on links below for some great promotional videos:

English: https://vimeo.com/899311608/03c7eb5080?share=copy

Spanish: https://vimeo.com/899671083/3bc6336e46?share=copy

 

FREE Backyard Gardening “kits”

As part of the Communities for Sustainable Monterey County’s “Our Families Grow Healthy” initiative, FREE backyard gardening kits are available for interested community members. Kit is $300 value, with coaching support included. See flier for more details.

Interested in launching a food business from home?

Join our friends at the Monterey County Business Council to learn more about how to how you can take advantage of the MEHKO (microenterprise home kitchen operations) law that was recently adopted in Monterey County. An informative info session will be held at the Seaside City Council Chambers on Thursday, April 4^th. See attached flier for more details.

 

Join the Monterey County Garden Network!

Calling all school, institutional and community garden supporters and champions. The Monterey County Garden Network is a gathering of like-minded folks who care about urban agriculture, empowering people of all ages to grow their own food and increase community food security. Cohosted by the Resources Conservation District of Monterey County and BZPMC, we meet monthly (virtually) and in-person quarterly for FREE workshops and network building. Email mcgardennetwork@gmail.com to be added to the network ListServ and calendar invites.

Tobacco Policy

City of Del Rey Oaks takes on smoke free multi-unit housing

On February 27^th, the Del Rey Oaks Council voted unanimously (5-0) on the first reading of an ordinance that would ban smoking in all current, and future, multi-unit housing complexes within Del Rey Oaks (larger than a triplex). This is notable leadership in a region that will be working hard to meet affordable housing goals, over the next several years- And another strong step in tobacco control by the council, making Del Rey Oaks a happier and healthier place to live, work and play. The second reading will be forthcoming and will likely go into place in October. BIG Thanks to our partners at the Monterey County Health Department for all the support.

Built Environment

City of Marina Approves design for a new park

The City Council approved plan for the Dunes City Park at their regular council meeting on February 6^th. The preliminary estimate for Phase 1 of this project is estimated to be $10.3 million and will be drawn from the City’s approved Capital Improvement budget and funds from the Dune developers. This park will provide wonderful amenities for Marina residents, including an all-inclusive play structure, tennis/pickleball courts, an outdoor multi-sport court, basketball, beach volleyball, restrooms, parking, and a “great lawn” for community gatherings. Things are happening in Marina!

City of Seaside advances Parks & Recreation Master Plan

The City of Seaside Parks & Recreation Committee reviewed and provided comments on a 200+ page Master Plan that makes recommendations on the future of park development and recreation programming in the City. The 11-month development process, led by an external consultant team, included numerous community and stakeholder input sessions. The next step will be going to council for formal review and adoption of the plan. For more information: Parks & Recreation Master Plan | Seaside, CA

ParkRx Monterey County website to launch in March!

Stay tuned - the ParkRx movement is coming to Monterey County! Thanks to a collaborative effort with Ventana Wildlife Society, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Parks District, Big Sur Land Trust, The Monterey County Health Department, BZPMC and our regional healthcare systems, an informative website that highlights all parks and open spaces in the County will be available. Health care providers across Monterey County can refer patients to the site and local outdoor programs, to meaningfully improve health outcomes, helping residents in Monterey County live longer, better!

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February 2024

Food Policy

Support the Seaside Certified Farmers Market

The Seaside Certified Farmers Market happens EVERY Thursday, 3-7pm at Laguna Grande Park, Seaside – YEAR ROUND! Stock up on your fresh vegetables and enjoy making community connections. See flier and click on links below for some great promotional videos:

English: https://vimeo.com/899311608/03c7eb5080?share=copy

Spanish: https://vimeo.com/899671083/3bc6336e46?share=copy

FREE Gardening Workshops at the Monterey Adult School

As part of the Communities for Sustainable Monterey County’s “Our Families Grow Healthy” initiative, FREE gardening classes will be offered to the public at the Monterey Adult School campus in Seaside starting on Saturday, February 24^th. See flier for more details and for information on how to register.

Join the Monterey County Garden Network!

Calling all school, institutional and community garden supporters and champions. The Monterey County Garden Network is a gathering of like-minded folks who care about urban agriculture, empowering people of all ages to grow their own food and increase community food security. Cohosted by the Resources Conservation District of Monterey County and BZPMC, we meet monthly (virtually) and in-person quarterly for FREE workshops and network building. Email mcgardennetwork@gmail.com to be added to the network ListServ and calendar invites.

Tobacco Policy

City of Del Rey Oaks Passes TWO tobacco ordinances

Congratulations to the community of Del Rey Oaks for the City Council’s commitment to curbing tobacco! On Tuesday, January 23rd the council voted unanimously to adopt a Tobacco Retail License Ordinance and a Smoke Free Outdoor Spaces Ordinance. BIG Thanks to Council Members Shirley and Hallock for their leadership and to our partners at the Monterey County Health Department and Sun Street Centers for all the support.

Built Environment

ParkRx Monterey County website to launch in March!

Stay tuned - the ParkRx movement is coming to Monterey County! Thanks to a collaborative effort with Ventana Wildlife Society, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Parks District, Big Sur Land Trust, BZPMC and our regional healthcare systems, an informative website that highlights all parks and open spaces in the County will be available. Health care providers across Monterey County will refer patients to the site and local outdoor programs, to meaningfully improve health outcomes, helping residents in Monterey County live longer, better!

Community Townhall on Laguna Grande Park

Laguna Grande Park is a critical open space and recreational resource between the bustling cities of Monterey and Seaside. On January 17^th community members gathered to share insights and desires for the future development of public programs at the park. The next meeting is scheduled for February 12^th, follow progress and get involved HERE: Laguna Grande Regional Park Plan | Have Your Say Monterey

SURF! Bus Rapid Transit Project – PopUp Event on February 10^th

Join us on Saturday, February 10^th at the 5^th Street Station in Marina, along the future SURF! Busway. Come see and learn about plans for the new mobility hub and envision a future where all modes of transportation come together to support upcoming development in the area as well as existing places of interest like CSUMB and the VA DOD Clinic. 10am-12pm. For more information visit: https://mst.org/about-mst/planning-development/surf/

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January 2024

Built Environment Policy

The Cities of Seaside, Monterey and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Parks District want to hear from YOU! Join us for a Community Townhall about future outdoor programming at Laguna Grande Park! Wednesday, January 17^th, 6-7:30pm at 735 Ramona Avenue in Monterey.

Come with your ideas to make this important park and programs more accessible to the community. See flier attached!

Tobacco Policy

Del Rey Oaks Council says NO to Tobacco - The City of Del Rey Oaks City Council voted unanimously on December 19^th to put a Tobacco Retail License Ordinance and Smoke Free Outdoor Spaces into effect. This is an important effort to show solidarity across all Peninsula Cities. The second (procedural) reading is scheduled for January 23^rd. They will also be discussing a Smoke Free Multi Unit Housing ordinance on that date as well. BIG appreciation to Council Members Shirley and Hallock for championing this effort, alongside our incredible partners at the Monterey County Health Department.

Food Policy

Successful Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop with the Monterey County Garden Network! The MCGN and Friends of Seaside Parks Association (FOSPA) hosted a free fruit tree pruning workshop with Certified Arborist Peter Quintanilla on December 16^th at Havana Soliz Community Garden in Seaside. There was a great turn out and the established fruit trees got a nice renovation! Find out more about the MC Garden Network here: Monterey County Food System Coalition - Interest Group 3- Community and School Gardens (google.com)

Support the Seaside Farmers Market – Open ALL Winter! Stock up on your fruits and vegetables in Seaside on Thursdays, 3-7pm at Laguna Grande Park. CalFresh/EBT, MarketMatch, WIC and Senior FMNP Coupons accepted. Seaside Certified Farmers' Market - Everyone’s Harvest (everyonesharvest.org)

 

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December 2023

Coming soon – ARIEL Theatrical and Blue Zones Project!

In partnership with the City of Salinas and Ecology Action, Blue Zones Project is proud to work with the talented performers of ARIEL Theatrical to create a crosswalk safety message. Showcasing the ‘scramble’ intersections in downtown Salinas, the taped message will be shared on social media. Stay tuned!    

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November 2023

Castroville Farmers Market

Thanks to the invaluable partnership with Everyone's Harvest and generous financial backing from Blue Zones Project Monterey County, the Castroville Farmers Market will extend a warm welcome to EBT/CalFresh beneficiaries. As an added benefit to the market, a new $15 Market Match program will create an opportunity for CalFresh users to double their purchasing power. For every $15 spent using an EBT card, consumers will have the ability to of acquire $30 worth of wholesome locally grown produce.

Castroville market takes place at the recreation center at 11261 Crane Street in Castroville, every Thursday from 2pm to 7:30pm!

October 2023

Built Environment Policy

Soledad Pop-Up Demonstration Project Showcases Safe Improvements for Walking/Biking

Blue Zones Project Monterey County, under the design leadership of Ecology Action and the Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC), assisted with the installation of a temporary demonstration project to support the Safe Routes to School planning in Soledad. Improvements include the creation of dedicated bike lanes, re-painted crosswalks, and student-designed delineators (painted horse troughs) along Front Street, between Oak Street and Nestle Road. This is a busy road that connects to southbound and northbound ramps for CA State 101. It’s a popular route with both students and residents because it provides direct access between services on either side the train trestle that divides the neighborhood. The project will stay up until October 6.

Ecology Action and TAMC are completing audits of all schools in Gonzales, Soledad, Greenfield and King City as part of the Safe Routes to School planning. Their recommendations will help inform each city about built environment improvements that support students’ ability to safely walk/bike to school.   The city of Salinas completed their planning report in 2022. These demonstration projects not only provide residents the ability to directly experience the improvements, they also are beneficial for cities to showcase in grant applications that provide funding for permanent improvements in the future.  

Food Policy

Celebrating Castroville's Freshest Fiesta: A Market Matchup Extravaganza!  

BZPMC is delighted to announce its participation in the launch of a farmers market, which will be incorporated into the existing market at the Castroville Recreation Center (organized by North County Recreation and Park District). Commencing on October 12th, the year-round market will feature a minimum of two local growers showcasing their finest fruits and vegetables, all freshly harvested within our community.

In addition to the remarkable produce selection, we are pleased to unveil a strategic collaboration with Everyone's Harvest. This partnership and BZPMC’s financial contribution will allow the market to accept EBT/CalFresh payments and introduce a compelling $15 Market Match initiative.

This noteworthy program empowers EBT cardholders to enhance their purchasing power. By allocating $15 from their EBT card, CalFresh beneficiaries can procure a bounty of produce valued at $30, effectively doubling their investment.

Residents of North Monterey County are encouraged to mark their calendars and make the Castroville market a regular destination for acquiring fresh, locally sourced products. For those residing in other regions of our county, we encourage you to explore alternate venues where you can procure fresh produce and leverage the benefits of the Market Match program.

Castroville market takes place at the recreation center at 11261 Crane Street in Castroville, every Thursday from 2pm to 7:30pm.

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September 2023

Food Policy

Stock up on your weekly fruits and vegetables at a Certified Farmers Market in Monterey County! CalFresh, Market Match and other nutrition incentives available. Learn more with Everyone’s Harvest.

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August 2023

Built Environment Policy

City of Salinas - Active Transportation Plan

The City of Salinas is beginning the update of its Active Transportation Plan. This plan will update the 2002 Bikeways Plan and 2004 Pedestrian Plan and will provide a roadmap for future improvements for walking and bicycling in Salinas, including sidewalks, intersection improvements, bicycle facilities, and trails.

Public input is the foundation of the planning process and will be gathered through community outreach events, public meetings, and online comments.

If you walk and/or bike in Salinas, your opinion matters!

Please visit Letsmodo.org/Salinas to take a brief survey and share your input on an interactive map.  

(Salinas ATP is in partnership with CalTrans, Kimley Horn, KTUA Planners and Ecology Action.)

City of Marina 2045 – General Plan Update

The City of Marina invites you to share your input about key issues and core values for our community by responding to the online questionnaire linked below:  

English: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XZJ7VZ3 
Spanish: https://es.surveymonkey.com/r/SC6H7QM 
Korean: https://ko.surveymonkey.com/r/SWXFTP9 

Please share these links widely to all your neighbors and fellow community members. Please note, this is not a statistically valid questionnaire; this is simply an opt-in survey designed to gather information from those who voluntarily participate. This questionnaire is supplemented with multiple other targeted outreach and engagement activities, including stakeholder interviews, pop-up workshops, and focus groups. Visit the project website to stay up to date on the latest events and milestones.

City of Seaside 2040 – General Plan Update

The public comment window for the City of Seaside’s General Plan update closed on July 21, 2023. The likely next step will be for the City Council to review. Please keep your eye on their website for further information: Seaside General Plan Update – Your City. Your Future. (seaside2040.com)

Tobacco Policy

City of Marina to consider updating tobacco policies

The City of Marina has been working towards relooking at their tobacco policies, namely adopting a tobacco retail license (TRL) and making their city parks smoke-free. This effort has been strongly advocated for by Councilmember Brian McCarthy, the Monterey County Health Department and Blue Zones Project. The City of Marina is one of the last municipalities in Monterey County to adopt a TRL, which is critical in controlling tobacco sale and consumption, particularly for youth. It is slated to be on the council agenda on Tuesday, August 15^th. Be sure to tune in and offer public comment, if this is something you are passionate about: Agenda Center • City of Marina • CivicEngage

Food Environment Policy

City of Seaside Certified Farmers Market

Stock up on your weekly fruits and vegetables at the Seaside Certified Farmers Market! EVERY Thursday, 3-7pm at Laguna Grande Park in Seaside, just across from City Hall. Live music, hot food vendors and a bounce house for the kids, makes this a fun event for all ages! CalFresh, MarketMatch and other nutrition incentives available, learn more here: Seaside Certified Farmers' Market - Everyone’s Harvest (everyonesharvest.org)

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July 2023

Built Environment Policy

City of Seaside

Seaside 2040 General Plan Community Input

The City of Seaside is excited to announce the release of the 6th Cycle, Public Review Draft Housing Element and the Revised Public Review Draft General Plan. The General Plan and Housing Element document a shared vision for the future of Seaside and set the policies and programs to achieve that vision.

The revised public draft of Seaside 2040 General Plan is available HERE for public review now, until July 21, 2023. For more information visit: Seaside General Plan Update – Your City. Your Future. (seaside2040.com)

Hilby Avenue Traffic Calming Initiative

The Hilby Avenue Traffic Calming study kicked off on May 17^th with a ‘street experience’ walk and a community meeting at the Oldemeyer Center. The goal of this effort is: 1) Safety for all users; 2) Improve bicycle safety; 3) Improve pedestrian safety; 4) Reduce driving speeds. The consultants expect to prepare a preliminary plan and set of recommendations for feedback by August 2023, with the goal to present to Council in October. Initial construction to implement recommendations is projected for 2024. Provide your input and keep abreast of the project HERE

City of Marina

Marina 2045 General Plan Community Engagement

Want to see the City of Marina more livable, walkable and bikeable? Get involved TODAY! The City of Marina’s General Plan is an important policy document that is required to be updated in all chartered cities every 15 to 20 years per California State Law. The General Plan serves as the City’s roadmap for land use and development decisions and is a key tool for influencing and improving the quality of life for residents and businesses over the next few decades. Click here to learn more: Participate | Marina General Plan (marina2045.org)

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Food Policy

Seaside Certified Farmers Market GRAND OPENING – June 15^th

Join Everyone’s Harvest, the City of Seaside and the Blue Zones Project Monterey County as we celebrate the launch of the Seaside Certified Farmers Market at Laguna Grande Park (1259 Canyon Del Rey Blvd in Seaside, CA 93955) on Thursday, June 15^th from 3-7pm!

The Seaside Certified Farmers’ Market happily accepts EBT/WIC and conducts a Market Match program for EBT customers to increase their spending power. Ask about Market Match at the Information Booth! Free parking is available next to the Seaside Certified Farmers’ Market or across the street in the City Hall parking lot. MST Bus Routes 20, A, & B exit bus at Del Monte or at Fremont.

City of Seaside focuses on CalFresh Enrollment

The City of Seaside wants to help eligible residents enroll in the CalFresh Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. CalFresh Benefits will be accepted at Seaside Certified Farmer's Market.

Seaside residents can get application assistance through the Family and Community Support Program, by contact Derrick Elder by email at delder@ci.seaside.ca.us or by calling 831.899.6851. Learn more HERE.

Built Environment Policy

Parks & Recreation Master Plan Open House – June 8th

The City of Seaside is preparing a citywide Parks & Recreation Master Plan as a blueprint for park and open space improvements. Community input plays an important role in the planning process, and we want to hear from you!

Drop in between 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. on June 8th to share your thoughts. Attend the informal Master Plan Open House to learn more about the plan and provide your ideas and feedback on the future of Seaside’s parks, programs and open space. You can also fill out an online survey HERE

For more information: Contact Dan Meewis at (831) 899-6821 or via email: DMeewis@ci.seaside.ca.us

Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seasiderecreation/
Parks & Recreation Master Plan website:
https://www.ci.seaside.ca.us/797/Parks-Recreation-Master-Plan

SAVE THE DATE – Transit Fair & Family Fun Day!

Join Monterey Salinas Transit and partners for a fun, activity-filled event on Saturday, June 10^th from 10am-2pm at the Marina Transit Exchange (280 Reservation Road, Marina CA 93933). Play games, eat tasty food and learn about the vision for transit in Monterey County! Visit www.MST.org/surf

Seaside 2040 General Plan Community Workshops – June 20 & 22

The City of Seaside is excited to announce the release of the 6th Cycle, Public Review Draft Housing Element and the Revised Public Review Draft General Plan. The General Plan and Housing Element document a shared vision for the future of Seaside and set the policies and programs to achieve that vision.

The revised public draft of Seaside 2040 General Plan is available HERE for public review now, until July 21, 2023. There will be a series of community engagement events to garner additional feedback including a virtual Community Workshop on June 20^th and an in-person workshop on June 22. For more information visit: Seaside General Plan Update – Your City. Your Future. (seaside2040.com)

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May 2023

Food Policy

Gonzales Gleaning Project

Monterey Workforce Development Program’s GREEN CADRE students spearheaded the foundational efforts of Gonzales Gleaning Project. Urban gleaning consists of community members sharing excess fruit harvest with the community & a group of volunteers that pick up or harvest the produce. The GREEN CADRE students, whose projects focused on food insecurity issues, helped Blue Zones Project with community surveying, analyzing survey results, and conducted the first Harvest!

Marina’s Oak Woodland Community Garden gets new accessible pathways!

Thanks to the help of the Monterey County’s Workforce Development Program’s GREEN CADRE, the Oak Woodland Community Garden has the makings of some new pathways that will help ALL bodies grow fresh vegetables in their community garden. From Mayor Bruce Delgado: “CADRE was great building accessible-to-all-pathways, raised beds, and bench foundations of wire, rock, DG (decomposed granite), and a lot of smiles of accomplishment.”

Visit the Oak Woodland Community Garden adjacent to the Marina Library in Locke Paddon Park!

Built Environment Policy

Hilby Avenue Traffic Calming Initiative

The Hilby Avenue Traffic Calming study kicked off on May 17^th with a ‘street experience’ walk and a community meeting at the Oldemeyer Center. The goal of this effort is:

1) Safety for all users;

2) Improve bicycle safety;

3) Improve pedestrian safety;

4) Reduce driving speeds.

The consultants expect to prepare a preliminary plan and set of recommendations for feedback by August 2023, with the goal to present to Council in October. Initial construction to implement recommendations is projected for 2024. Provide your input and keep abreast of the project HERE

Pump Track Grand Opening!

Congratulations to the City of Marina for the successful grand opening of their new pump track at Glorya Jean Tate Park in Marina. This is a benefit for not only Marina residents, but the whole region! It was estimated the event drew 800+ people, with free food and bike giveaways!

Click HERE for a great video of the day.

Marina 2045 General Plan Community Engagement

Want to see the City of Marina more livable, walkable and bikeable? Get involved TODAY! The City of Marina’s General Plan is an important policy document that is required to be updated in all chartered cities every 15 to 20 years per California State Law. The General Plan serves as the City’s roadmap for land use and development decisions and is a key tool for influencing and improving the quality of life for residents and businesses over the next few decades. Click here to learn more: Participate | Marina General Plan (marina2045.org)

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April 2023

Food Policy

As a member of the Nutrition Fitness Collaborative of the Central Coast (NFCCC), Blue Zones Project supported the creation of a tool to promote all the nutrition education offerings for community members in Monterey County, San Benito, and Santa Cruz.

Founded in 2003, the NFCCC collectively works on reducing childhood obesity, increasing physical activity levels, and increasing access to affordable, nutritious food. More than forty agencies and organizations from Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties are part of the collaborative. Blue Zones Project has been a member for over four years.

For clickable flyer to access all organizations' links, please email Genevieve LeBlanc at genvieve.leblanc@sharecare.com

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Have POLICY IDEAS to help your city become a happier, healthier place to live, work and play?

We want your input: https://forms.gle/KvUab5m5DrdabXDy9     

March 2023

Tobacco Policy

One policy focus of our Blue Zones Project work in Monterey County (BZPMC) is education and advocacy promoting tobacco-free communities.  This includes awareness and education for vaping which is both a national and local public health issue for people of all ages.  Unfortunately, youth-use of vaping products continues to rise. The county of Monterey has passed an ordinance to restrict the sale of flavored tobacco products and BZPMC continues to advocate for all cities to do the same. (Currently, only Pacific Grove, Monterey, and Soledad have flavored tobacco sales restrictions.)

National Take Down Tobacco is a youth-led movement to raise awareness of the problem of tobacco/vape use and to urge elected officials to take action to strengthen local ordinances.  BZPMC partnered with Sun Street Centers/STEPS and MC Office of Education to support youth and their Take Down Tobacco efforts. Students in classrooms across the county pledged to be tobacco/vape free and proudly posed with their signed banners. We salute all of these students for being advocates for healthy habits!  

Food Environment Policy

The Monterey County Food System Coalition mobilizes diverse food system actors to strengthen human, economic and environmental health for all. Let’s look at Interest Group #1: Increase access to healthy food for food-insecure people.

The latest Monterey County Community health need assessment (CHNA) (published in 2022) reveals that more than a quarter of the adults in our county finds it “very” or “somewhat” difficult to access affordable fresh fruits and vegetables.

The group is composed of Aspire Health (Yasmine Elsherbini, MPH, CHES), CalFresh Healthy Living and WIC (Niaomi Hrepich), Everyone's Harvest (Hester Parker), Blue Zones Project - Monterey County as well as Mark C. Anderson and Louie Diaz-Infante.

Main goals:

1. Increase participation in federal food programs, with a special focus on expanding CalFresh (SNAP) enrollment.
2. Expand Food Incentive Programs, with a focus on Market Match and Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB)
3. Enhance referrals and provide resources for food insecure residents.

A few months ago, Everyone’s Harvest was awarded a $500,000 to expand Fresh Rx in Monterey County and $200,000 grant for a two-year project entitled "Food is Medicine: Expanding the Fresh Rx Produce Prescription in Monterey County.”

In parallel, Aspire Health was awarded a $1 million grant from the California Nutrition Incentive Program to initiate a Double Up Food Bucks Program in partnership with Blue Zones Project. This program will be launched publicly in June 2023 in four stores across the county and will expand to more stores in 2024.

The group is also hoping to Support the launch of a farmers’ markets in South County and Seaside that will accept nutrition incentives.

If you are curious to learn more, feel free to join our interest group meetings or a food system coalition meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend! Simply reach out and I will share the invite! Visit: Monterey County Food System Coalition (MCFSC) website

February 2023

Built Environment

Our friends at Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) are studying programs, policies, and infrastructure improvements that could increase access to active and public transportation and support future development alongside MST’s SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit project, in collaboration with the local cities. Your input is critical to the success of this effort.

Participation in this survey is voluntary and the results will be completely confidential. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.

Take the survey here: https://forms.gle/a6rgvPbXmb9QFN319

The City of Seaside is working hard to put a new traffic calming program into place to support biking, walking and other forms of active transit! This program will help manage traffic speed-related concerns along local and collector streets throughout Seaside. Through an application process, residents identify vehicular speed and safety-related concerns on their streets to the city. To be considered in the next cycle, applications are due by September 30^th and can be found here: Seaside-Traffic-Calming-Program-Document_221031

• • Quick Links on the Traffic Advisory Committee webpage: https://www.ci.seaside.ca.us/424/Traffic-Advisory-Committee

Food Environment

March 11^th – Community Volunteer Day at Havana Soliz Park in Seaside Founded by Seaside native, Robert Daniels, this garden is ready to thrive in 2023. Help plant the springtime edible garden. Meet new friends and neighbors. Move naturally. Help make Seaside more beautiful in collaboration with Friends of Seaside Parks Association (FOSPA)! 

REGISTER FOR THE EVENT: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/540657770947

Calling out SCHOOL LEADERS!!!! 

We are hosting a series of gardening workshops for our Schools Leaders

January 2023

Built Environment

The City of Marina is beginning to update their General Plan. This document will shape the infrastructure and character of the City for the next 20+ years! Consider engaging in the process to support a more livable, bikeable, walkable and overall healthy community. You can sign up for email notifications for community input sessions and fill out a survey HERE: General Plan 2045 | Marina, CA - Official Website (cityofmarina.org)

The City of Seaside is collecting public input on the Initial Study of the Broadway Avenue Complete Street Corridor Improvements Project. The project includes the design and construction of a 1.3-mile road diet on Broadway Avenue from Fremont Boulevard to General Jim Moore Boulevard and safe routes to school improvements on Yosemite Street from San Pablo Avenue to Wanda Avenue. The road diet will transform the 4- lane roadway to a 2‐lane roadway with curb extensions, buffered and protected bike facilities, roundabouts, and Safe Routes to School improvements including off‐ set crosswalk, rectangular rapid flashing beacons, and accessible design. Improvements on Yosemite Street will include bicycle pavement markings, signage, curb extensions and high visibility crosswalks. The public is encouraged to provide feedback in helping make Seaside more bike and pedestrian friendly! More information can be found about the project HERE: Broadway Ave & Yosemite St Complete Streets - City | Social Pinpoint (engagekh.com)

Food Environment

Calling all school and community garden champions! We are reconvening the Monterey County Garden Network in 2023 to support skill building, resource sharing, funding ideas and networking opportunities for gardeners across Monterey County. Join us for monthly (free) virtual learning session and quarterly in-person garden tours. For more information email: roos@sharecare.com

Tobacco Cessation

Save the Date to ‘Take Down Tobacco’ - March 31st! Blue Zones Project will be collaborating with Sun Street Centers to get youth engaged across Monterey County through clean ups, public advocacy and education in schools!

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December 2022

Organic Waste- from Landfills to School and Community Gardens!

Last year, SB 1383 was the most significant waste reduction mandate to be adopted in California in the last 30 years. Considering that organic waste Is the largest waste stream in California, all jurisdictions must now significantly reduce (75% by 2025) organic waste in landfills. Have you ever wondered what that means for Monterey County?

The two waste management agencies in our county ReGen Monterey and Salinas Valley Recycles are both doing some outreach and education about food scraps and yard trimmings and those are now composted in Gonzales on a commercial site. The public-private partnership between Salinas Valley Recycles and Atlas Organics allows organics material to be transformed into compost that can then be used to enrich soil and grow nutrients-dense produce!

Curious to know where this compost goes once it is mature and ready?

Last December, Blue Zones Project Monterey County collaborated with Atlas Organics to distribute more than 170 cubic yards of compost to twenty-eight schools and community gardens across our county. We look forward to seeing what will grow in those gardens in the months to come and share some stories from those gardens.

Picture: Compost distribution at Pacific Grove Community Garden

New California Tobacco Retail Law

As of December 21, 2022, Prop 31 the statewide ban on flavored tobacco products went into effect. This is monumental in protecting youth from harmful tobacco products and lifelong addictions. To learn more, click HERE.

For smoking cessation support, visit: Cessation | Monterey County, CA

Take action

Residents in the City of Marina can provide feedback on housing/development, as the City works on their 6^th Cycle housing element. Look for the survey links at the bottom of this page on their website.

City of Seaside residents are invited to submit feedback through the City’s newly adopted ‘Traffic Calming Program’ to support safer streets that are more bike and pedestrian friendly. Follow this link for more information.

The BZPMC Policy team warmly welcomes and congratulates all newly seated City Council members and Mayors in the region. We look forward to working together to improve health and wellbeing across municipalities in Monterey County!

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October 2022

Safe Routes to School Salinas Valley – Planning for Safer Streets!

The goal of the Safe Routes to Schools planning process is to improve safety for students biking and walking to 22 schools in the Salinas Valley and reduce traffic around those schools. The Plan will include a list of recommended street projects and safe routes to school programs to improve safety around each school. This will include things like new sidewalks and improved crosswalks, as well as new programs like safety education, walking school buses and school carpooling.   

Last month, TAMC and Ecology Action organized a temporary installation along 12^th Street in Greenfield. The pop-up included enhanced crosswalks and curb extensions. Among those who will benefit are children and adults using active transportation (i.e., walking, biking, skating, scooting) when traveling to and from Arroyo Seco Academy (1226 Apple Avenue), Oak Avenue Elementary (1239 Oak Avenue), and Vista Verde Middle School (1199 Elm Avenue). The goal of the demonstration is to gather feedback and data for permanent improvements to the area.

 

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September 2022

Built Environment Progress

The City of Seaside is making notable progress towards improving their parks and trail systems. As part of the Blue Zones Project Monterey County marquee project work, the City has identified three parks in upper Seaside that connect several schools and neighborhoods, as an opportunity to model accessibility, connectivity and natural movement.

They have recently released a request for proposals to help with the design. Learn more here.

Community Input Welcomed:

Monterey-Salinas Transit is actively soliciting feedback from the community on their proposed SURF busway and bus rapid transit line that will help mitigate traffic on Hwy1 during active commute hours. Public can learn more about the project here.

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August 2022

Tobacco Policy Win

The City of Monterey recently passed an updated tobacco ordinance that banned the sale of flavored tobacco products and single-use vaping devices. Their leadership will work inspire other municipalities to follow suit, keeping these harmful substances out of the hands of youth in our communities. Kudos to council for passing it 5-0 and city staff for such thoughtful recommendations.

Built Environment Progress

Blue Zones Project Monterey County partner, Monterey Salinas Transit, was recently awarded a $25 million grant to support the further development of the SURF Bus Rapid Transit line that will help mitigate commute traffic along the Hwy1 corridor. They are actively soliciting community input: SURF! Community Input Hub | Social Pinpoint (mysocialpinpoint.com) Please lend your voice to this important regional transportation project.

Food Policy Connections

In an effort to support local food sovereignty and community food security, Blue Zones Project is working to build a network of community and school garden practitioners across Monterey County. We had our first in-person gathering at the lovely Pacific Grove Community Garden, with plans for many more gatherings to build skills, share resources and nurture relationships. If you are interested in getting involved, email: tanja.roos@sharecare.com

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July 2022

Soledad City Council Approves Flavored Tobacco Ban Ordinance

Following the recent action by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, the Soledad City Council unanimously approved a Tobacco Retail Licensing (TRL) ordinance on May 4 that includes a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products (including menthol flavors and hookah tobacco). The TRL also includes a ban on the sale of single-use electronic devices.

Vaping is not a healthy alternative to regular tobacco use and flavored products are the number one product used by youth. There are more than 15,000 tobacco product flavors on the market and electronic cigarettes, often disguised as USB drives or highlighter pens, are marketed specifically to youth in appealing flavors. Youth who smoke e-cigarettes are more likely to start smoking regular cigarettes than those who have never tried them.

Blue Zones Project Monterey County applauds Soledad for supporting this ordinance. More cities throughout Monterey County are considering similar action and we thank Soledad for leading this effort in the county.

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June 2022

As we wrap up our Project Year 1 in Peninsula Cities, things have been busy on the policy front. Major kudos to the City of Seaside for their continued work in advancing food policy work with the recent City Council action of passing a Healthy Foods Resolution and Policy for all city-sponsored events on May 19th. This continues to lay the groundwork for making healthy choices easier, for all City staff and community members! They even took to social media to share the good news and offered Blue Zones-inspired healthy food and beverage suggestions for their followers. Their strong leadership will help inspire meaningful policy action in other municipalities across Monterey County.

Blue Zones Project also completed a healthy food access survey within the City of Seaside and thanks to a collaboration with The Village Project’s Community Health Workers (CHWs), over half the survey responses were collected on paper, out in community. The bilingual survey contained several questions about challenges/opportunities around community access to healthy foods, interest in an outdoor/farmers market, community gardens, corner store revitalizations and more. The survey results have already been shared with several community-based nonprofits, city staff and will inform future BZP food policy work within the City of Seaside.

On the Built Environment front, we were thrilled to help install a demonstration walking path on the campus of Monterey Peninsula College – thanks to a collaboration with MPC Student Health Services, a newly approved BZP participating organization. Their vision was to get students to move naturally MORE and with the help of some great sidewalk wayfinding decals and a scannable QR code with a map, students can easily head out on a walk. We look forward to working more with MPC and engaging their students in BZP activities.

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May 2022

Salinas Safe Routes to School – Temporary Protected Walking/Biking Installation

BZPMC was proud to support the Salinas Safe Routes to School partner organizations (TAMC, City of Salinas, MC Health Dept. and Ecology Action) with their installation of temporary improvements at McKinnon Street and Westminster Drive. This demonstration project was designed with students in mind. The project includes barriers between the bike lane and the motor vehicle lane, which makes it safer for students to bike to Harden Middle School and North Salinas High. Improvements also make it safer for students who walk to/from the adjacent neighborhoods.  

 

 

The project is up until May 18. You are invited to walk and bike on McKinnon Street and Westminster Drive during this installation and share your feedback: https://saferoutesmonterey.org/planning-salinas

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April 2022

March was a busy month for policy in the Peninsula Cities! We were happy to welcome Blue Zones national policy experts in the food and built environment to conduct site walks and meet with community partners throughout Marina, Monterey and Seaside.

Margaret Adamek, Blue Zone national food policy expert joined us to tour community gardens, meet with institutional/municipal partners and discuss opportunities to strengthen healthy food access and equity in the Peninsula Cities.

Dan Burden and Tony Hull, Blue Zone national built environment experts enjoyed four different site walks in the Peninsula Cities. The first was with several elected officials, city staff and nonprofit leaders in the City of Seaside to further discuss the marquee project that has been identified: an urban trail in upper Seaside connecting 3 city parks and multiple schools. Next stop was in Del Rey Oaks, to walk with one of the founders of the FORTAG (Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway) and a representative from Transportation Agency of Monterey County (TAMC) to discuss community and regional benefits of the project. Multiple Mayors and city staff from DRO, Monterey and Seaside were all actively involved in this cross-jurisdictional capacity building event.

 

   

We then enjoyed lunch at Blue Zones Approved Restaurant, Aki Fresh, in Marina where we met with MST (Monterey Salinas Transit) and City of Marina leadership to discuss community engagement around the proposed SURF Bus Rapid Transit line that will connect Marina to the Peninsula.