Hank’s Health Fest: A South LA Wellness Event Rooted in Sustainability

Leadership Project Report-Out

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

In collaboration with a small business owner in South Central Los Angeles this July, I will produce a health festival featuring prepared plant-based food from local Black-owned businesses in South LA. In addition to the plant-based food, this inaugural daylong event called Hank’s Health Fest, will be a celebration of collective wellness that includes physical activity, a food panel that will discuss the relationship between food, culture, and wellness, and a health fair that will bring together local community health partners. Moreover, I’m pursuing funding to allow up to 100 community members to participate in this event for free. Notably, the goal is not to make everyone adopt a plant-based diet. Instead, I hope to share a message about how incorporating more fruits and vegetables can be about health, choice, meeting people where they are, and, most importantly, having options for food people can enjoy.

IMPORTANCE:

Focusing on South LA is essential to me in centering a community and perspectives on sustainability that don’t often get featured. Even my approach to this project has evolved as I’ve worked with my partner and gotten to know this community better. From the beginning, I was clear that I wanted this to be something that would truly benefit this area and not just something I did to finish my certificate. As a result, this meant broadening the scope of the project. While I initially envisioned focusing specifically on plant-based food, we broadened the scope to include physical activity, a food panel, and a health fair, which allows us to pursue a more holistic discussion about wellness. I think this is important for two related reasons.

Firstly, sustainability is often treated as a standalone aspect rather than something that’s integrated with other conversations. And too often, this continues to marginalize. Secondly, many of these standalone conversations don’t often meet people where they are. As aforementioned, my goal with this project isn’t to make everyone adopt a plant-based lifestyle. Instead, it’s to hold space for a conversation about food and wellness to allow people to share their visions for themselves, their families, and their community.

IMPACT AND REACH:

This project will focus on community members in South LA, specifically in the Hyde Park neighborhood. This neighborhood is primarily an African-American and Latinx. By the end of the event, we will distribute at least 300 plant-based meals, drinks.
4. COLLABORATIONS: How did you bring others into the effort in productive ways? If there is a client, provide background about that client.

Background on Hank’s Mini Market

I’m co-producing this event and holding it at Hank’s Mini Market, a corner store in South LA. Hank’s Mini Market is a family-owned curated market that has served the Hyde Park community of South Central Los Angeles for 25 years. In 2018, building upon her father, Henry “Hank” Jackson’s, initial vision to maintain a corner store that prioritized a commitment to community, second-generation owner Kelli Jackson facilitated a large brick-and-mortar transformation project with the help of partners the Los Angeles Food Policy Council and sweetgreen.

As a result, this classic corner store was reinvigorated and now provides access to art, healthy food options, and safe spaces through its shopping experience and community activations. Hank’s has evolved into more than a corner store — it’s a gathering place for the community and a bright spot in the neighborhood. Through partnerships, Hank’s has created inviting spaces for the community to gather, have fun, learn, and shop locally in their Hyde Park neighborhood and beyond.

Plant-Based Businesses
Additional partners for this event will include three local Black-owned small businesses which feature plant-based food.
● Vurger Guyz – a vegan food truck
● All Chill – an artisanal ice cream and frozen yogurt shop
● Straight Up Fast Food – an organic smoothie, cold-pressed juice, and acai bowls

Community Health Partners
During the last portion of our event, community members will also have an opportunity to connect with local community wellness partners, including:
● The Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI) – SJLLI’s Health Equity team offers a free produce giveaway with rescued produce every Friday.
● The Martin Luther King (MLK) Community Healthcare System – will provide free individual health screenings for blood pressure, glucose, BMI, and guidance on the next steps to maintain or improve health.
● Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services
● UCLA Health

YOUR ROLE WELL DEFINED:

Specifically, I’m leading the coordination with the food vendors, managing the event budget, and pursuing funding within UCLA. I’m also collaborating with Kelli to confirm the community partners, pitch the event for external funding, design the community outreach strategy, and plan the run-of-show for the event day.

OPTIONAL NEXT STEPS:

Upon successful completion of the event in July, the goal is to make this an annual, if not biannual, event. While Hank’s Mini Market has a history of doing community events, this will be its first health festival, the first event since COVID, the first event to integrate a lens of sustainability, and it will be its largest event to date. We’re hoping to use this event as a launchpad for future collaborations. For example, later this summer, Hank’s and the Social Justice Learning Institute will resume nutrition workshops, providing residents opportunities to learn new recipes to integrate more fruits and vegetables. I’ll be supporting the reintroduction of these workshops.

Lastly, at the beginning of the month, Kelli and I applied for a grant to begin a monthly farmstand in which we’ll freely distribute produce sourced from small-scale, primarily Black-owned farms. Contingent upon us securing that funding, the health festival will also serve as advertising for that event, which we project will begin in September 2023.