The Grays Harbor Community Hospital has partnered with local farms to provide fresh produce to patients.
The Grays Harbor Community Hospital Foundation announced that the partnership between the hospital and Aberdeen Farmer’s Market, Randall Street Community Garden and Sky Island Farms will provide a weekly basket of fresh produce, or the opportunity to grow their own garden, to a select number of patients.
GHCH says, “In 2018 an estimated 1 in 8 Americans were considered food insecure or lacking consistent access to enough food for an active healthy lifestyle. This project hopes to change the way patients eat, focusing on health and wellness.”
Patients in this program will be chosen by their provider and asked if they would like produce delivered if they are homebound, picked up at the Aberdeen Famer’s Market on Sundays or if they would like to plant their own garden and grow vegetables throughout the summer. These food “prescriptions” will be given to local families based on health and financial need.
“We are thrilled to be able to give our patients the foods they need to be healthy, “said Dr. Anne Marie Wong, CMO and Internal Medicine physician at GHCH. “By starting small we can focus on making this a program that can be replicated for other organizations to participate and directly impact the lives of our patients.”
Liz Ellis of Randall Street Garden and Kate Thorn of Sky Island Farm will be providing the gardening expertise and produce for this program.
“Liz and Kate are truly doing the heavy lifting on this project,” said Nancee Long, Director of Marketing and PR for GHCH. “they have amazed us with their generosity and dedication to helping as many families as possible experience organic produce.”
If you would like to donate to this project or any project funded by Grays Harbor Community Hospital Foundation, please call or email Nancee Long at nalong@ghcares.org or 360-537-5136 for more information.
