What better time to celebrate the growth of farmers markets than a warm day in August, when fresh corn, tomatoes and peaches are at their peak? During National Farmers Market Week, it’s heartening to note that the USDA now lists more than 7,864 farmers markets across the country – that’s nearly 10 percent more than last year.
Providing access to healthy food is also a public health issue. That’s why health care has joined this trend, with more hospitals and health systems hosting farmers markets and even purchasing and growing farm fresh produce for their patient meals and cafeterias. According to a recent report from Health Care Without Harm, an international agency promoting sustainable practices in health care institutions, about 80 percent of 89 hospitals surveyed nationwide now host a farmers market or community supported agriculture program on site. Kaiser Permanente just announced it now hosts more than 50 markets at its hospitals and facilities across the country. Some other great examples include Fletcher Allen Health Care in Vermont and Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Preston Maring, MD, the founder of Kaiser Permanente’s farmers markets, recently hosted 15 San Leandro, Calif. kids from the Habits for Heroes summer camp at KP’s Oakland Medical Center farmers market, where the campers learned how easy it is to cook and eat healthy. Watch highlights from that visit in this video.
