Nataliz Sanchez, 6, of Santa Rosa shows off her tooth-brushing skills Saturday at the annual Cesar Chavez Health Fair at Roseland Elementary School in Santa Rosa. ONLINE For a gallery of photos from the Health Fair, go to pressdemo.com.   

    

The health of a community, or at least a good part of it, was assessed Saturday during the annual Cesar Chavez Health Fair in Santa Rosa’s Roseland neighborhood.

Sponsored by Kaiser Permanente and held at Roseland Elementary School, the four-hour event drew hundreds of mostly Latino parents, who lined up with their children to be screened for anemia, cavities, poor vision and more.

Five-year-old Angel Moreno was among more than 120 kids who had their teeth checked inside a classroom that served as exam room for the St. Joseph Dental Clinic, one of many local health care providers at the event.

"I can’t eat more candy," Angel said after a volunteer dentist discovered he had a cavity in one of his molars.

Angel’s mother, Hilda Moreno of Santa Rosa, said the event was a much-needed service for the community. Moreno, whose children are covered by Medi-Cal, said she’ll go to the St. Joseph clinic on Lombardi Court to get Angel’s cavity filled.

Now in its eighth year, the Cesar Chavez Health Fair keeps getting bigger, organizers said. Anthony P. Chavez, the 22-year-old grandson of the legendary founder of the United Farm Workers, was a guest speaker at Saturday’s event, which drew more than 2,500 people.

The fair provided kids

with music, games, bicycle training, and face painting.

But it was health care that attracted so many people.

"We had people lining up for dental care at 8 a.m.," said Julie McClure, program director of CalSERVES and a key organizer of the event. "I think that says a lot about the services that aren’t available to a large part of our community."

At a booth near a school clinic run by Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County, clinic medical director Dr. Meredith Kieschnick encouraged children and adults to get checked for anemia. Eating foods with iron can combat this ailment.

Holding up a box of cereal that contained 90 percent of the recommended daily amount of iron, Kieschnick said, "You can buy this one without the sugar."

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@

pressdemocrat.com.