Feast for Your Brain 2024 brought mind and body health to the Tucson community
The annual Feast for Your Brain healthy aging event took place in October 2024 at the El Rio Neighborhood Center and brought together a spectrum of Tucson community members to see performances, receive health services, and learn about aging brain research opportunities.
Southern Arizonans of all ages came together to stretch both mind and body at the third annual Feast for Your Brain, a free healthy aging event hosted by the Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona and the Precision Aging Network (PAN). The October 2024 Feast for Your Brain (FFYB) event took place at the El Rio Neighborhood Center west of Interstate 10 and brought brain health and wellness activities directly into the heart of the community.
The festive event welcomed more than 350 attendees who enjoyed a wide array of activities, all focused on promoting healthy aging. Visitors explored 28 informational tables, 11 music and dance performances, and a full schedule of public health talks centered on the latest research about brain health and aging. They also enjoyed performances representing a diverse mix of cultures from the community including Chinese, Mexican, and African traditions. Students, faculty, and community partners shared practical wellness tips, aging resources, and research opportunities.
Feast for Your Brain fosters a healthy community in Southern Arizona in a variety of ways. In partnership with Foodsmart, the event provided nutritious groceries by giving out 85 food boxes to attendees. Additionally, more than 40 attendees received their flu and/or COVID vaccines at the event, many were educated about COVID-19, nutrition, HIV, and chronic disease prevention, and two took an HIV test.
Another highlight of the event is the opportunity to participate in the MindCrowd brain health study, part of the Precision Aging Network’s effort to learn how genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors influence the aging brain. Impressivley, 36 visitors completed the 10-minute online memory game during the event, continuing the mission to recruit new MindCrowd participants each year. Nearly all who completed the game also signed up for Healthy Minds for Life.
Previously held on the University of Arizona campus, the new Feast for Your Brain venue provided increased access for neighborhood residents and brought a fresh sense of community spirit.
“Hosting Feast for Your Brain in the heart of our community was a wonderful new idea.” said Zhao Chen, PhD, MPH, professor and associate dean for research at the Zuckerman College of Public Health. “The number of Hispanic attendees was the highest yet-- a great success for engaging our Hispanic community in research.”
Norma Carrasco Flores, who has attended all three Feast for Your Brain events shared, “As Latinos, it is important to recognize the value in these types of programs—especially when we are given the appropriate information and equitable opportunities to join studies and health research, all to have a better quality of life.”
Algurie Wilson, from the Coalition for African American Health and Wellness, has joined the event for three years as one of our community partners and table vendors. “I’ve seen Feast for Your Brain grow and evolve which allows the event organizers to make it better each year. I encourage you to plan on attending as I’m looking forward to being back.”
The Precision Aging Network, supported by a $60 million grant from the National Institute on Aging, partners with local communities to help people understand how aging affects the brain differently for everyone—and how research can lead to personalized strategies for maintaining mental and physical well-being throughout the lifespan.
Whether dancing to live music, testing their memory with brain games, or chatting with local health professionals, participants walked away energized and inspired to make healthy aging a lifelong goal.
Feast for Your Brain will return to the El Rio Neighborhood Center this fall! Save the date for October 25, 2025, from 10 am to 3 pm. We’ll see you there!
Thank you to everyone who makes Feast for Your Brain such an amazing event.
We are grateful for our University of Arizona and community partners who joined us last year, including:
- Allignment Health
- Alzheimer's Association Desert Southwest Chapter
- Archwell
- AZ Bilingual News
- Banner Health
- Coalition for African American Health and Wellness
- Devon Gables Rehabilitation Center
- El Rio Health
- Foodsmart
- Fortis Health
- Friendly Insurance Brokers
- Funeral Consumers Alliance of Arizona
- Healthy Minds for Life
- Nosotros Comprometidos a Su Salud
- Pima Council on Aging
- Pima County Health Department
- Rodeo Dental
- Soulistic Hospice
- Su Vida Healthcare
- Tucson Chinese Cultural Center
- UA All of Us Research Program
- UA Mobile Health Unit
- UA Department of Medicine
- UA falls Prevention Program
- UAHS Center for Sleep, Circadian & Neuroscience Research
- WEST Environmental Justice Center (now BRISA Center for the Environment)
- Zuckerman Family Center for Prevention and Health Promotion
