St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor farmers market

By Catherine Engstrom-Hadley
Staff Writer

Looking for some farm fresh produce? Every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital offers a farmer’s market cart in their main lobby. Food is grown locally right off Huron River Drive. As part of the hospital’s Health and Wellness department, the farm strives to cultivate community engagement.

The farm which expands across four acres, was started over eight years ago and is one of the few hospital-based farms in the country. Accessibility is a huge priority. “We have a handicapped accessible hoop house, and [with the farm] being next to the hospital, we can grow a diverse community.” explained Amanda Sweetman, the current Project Manager. “Not just one kind of person can come here. Having studied ecology, I know that diverse ecosystems are more resilient, and I see that happening in our community here. We have recent immigrants and people with disabilities, we have people of all ages, and that forms a more resilient, positive force in the world that I think we really need.”

The farm encourages community involvement and relies on volunteers. Volunteering at the farm is a great way to learn how to work as a team to provide healthy food. Children have the opportunity to visit the farm for field trips and day camps. “We work really hard to make curiosity cool again,” said Sweetman, “[Children’s] role models aren’t telling them eating vegetables is cool, they aren’t telling them science is awesome. One of the best ways to help people to be healthier is to intervene when they are young.”

When kids come to the farm for a 90-minute field trip, they have a chance to participate in experiment based and interactive science education. The goal is to make healthy habits fun for kids and provide them with positive role models. These programs have been such a success that the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation’s Youth Council allocated two thousand dollars to provide bus fare for student field trips to the farm.

The St. Joe’s farm also offers a Community Supported Agriculture share programs. Participating members have an opportunity to try new foods and dishes they may not normally choose. The farm’s team members even post recipes on the blog stjoefarm.wordpress.com to help promote healthy meals. Weekly, seasonal, or year-round shares can be purchased, which allows shareholders to bring home fresh produce for the length of time they choose. The Community Supported Agriculture program also helps to support and maintain the farm.

The farm at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital has proven to be of great benefit to the community, providing Washtenaw County residents with fresh, sustainable food options. According to Sweetman, “The amazing thing about the farm is that we are growing a healthy community. We’re doing that in a very grass roots way. People come to us and say ‘were interested in this, we want to help with this, we [want to] know about this’”. Anyone with a positive attitude and desire to learn is encouraged to volunteer on the farm. To get involved, visit the farmer’s market page on the Hospital website.

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