Libraries are offering free health and wellness classes across the US

AP Health Writer

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Libraries around across the U.S. are helping people get healthier. They offer fitness classes, food pantries, cooking classes, conversations about loneliness and mental health, and even blood pressure monitors that can be checked out just like books. The programs leverage libraries’ reputation as sources of reliable information and their ability to reach people beyond formal health care settings. Libraries in Milwaukee and Kansas City, Missouri, are part of the American Heart Association’s program that provides blood pressure stations or take-home kits. Nine rural libraries in central Texas receive funding for various health efforts, including mental health and isolation.