St. Luke's Hospital decided to do something about the reputation of its meals. Watch this video where Lynn Trizna, the Farm Project Manager of the Rodale Institute, talks about the project to grow fresh organic produce for the St. Luke's Hospitals.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 Who did Lynn learn her passion for gardening from?
2 What did her mom do?
3 Is farming difficult?
4 When did the hospital open?
5 How many acres does St Luke's have on that campus now?
I actually was in the hospital a couple years ago, and I just kept on thinking "I hope I don't have to stay overnight because I wanna go home and eat my own food." It didn't occur to me that I could change, that the hospital would be willing to invest in a farm.
Good morning ladies.
My name is Lynn Trizna, and I'm the Farm Project Manager of the Rodale Institute. This project is to grow fresh organic produce for the St. Luke's Hospitals.
So if you guys wanna hit up the dino and the chard and stuff.
I'm very passionate about farming, but this farm project makes me very proud to be farming. I grew up with a garden. (1) My dad was a very avid gardener, so we always grew food, and I found my passion.
Don't miss me too much.
My mom was always (2) a nurse and then as I got older, she became a hospice nurse. My mom never talked about the hospital food. I think that she probably didn't eat it.
These beets are doing great, so it's like if these beets are...
People get excited about farming. It's so not a part of their everyday life, and it's almost like a little spectacle.
By the way, I like your new your new sunflower garden.
Oh, yeah.
Because that one died, obviously, and...
Yeah.
I like teaching people about farming and how (3) anyone can do it, really. You just need some seeds and some will power.
They just pop out.
Sunflower seeds, oh neat. Healthcare in the past was about sick care. We got paid when people got sick. That was our business model. In the next decade, in the next two decades, or three decades, it's going to be about keeping people well.
Studies show over and over again that if you have a high plant vegetable diet, you're gonna be healthier, less cancer, less obesity, etcetera. So as an organization, we're trying to migrate our thinking into that future of taking care of people on a health basis, not a sick basis.
We opened in November of (4) 2011. We started with actually 200 acres, then we added 300 acres more, so we currently have (5) 500 acres on this campus. Some of our employees asked the question, "Why couldn't we do an organic farm here on the campus?"
If I'm not at the farm, I miss it. It's...I love the farm. I love being here. I love growing food. It's my life. So in my typical day, I do tractor work, I harvest, I plant, and I deliver fresh produce to the hospitals. When this project first started, I don't think people really knew what was going on, so I get kinda these looks like "What is this woman doing with all this produce?" And now it's turned into "Hey, it's her again. She's here!
We like your product. Except for the kale. I don't like kale.
You'll learn to like it.
I don't like.
Put maple syrup on it.
No.
Is that OK or...?
St. Luke's plans to have its farm break even after three years. If successful, it hopes to serve as a model for other hospitals and colleges. Right now, the farm's produce is mostly served in the hospital cafeterias. St Luke's plans to expand the farm next year and include more produce in their patients' menus.
This is a significant change in how people think about their food. If we can touch one patient at a time to change, or one family at a time, to change how they eat and what they eat, that's a success.
It works out better for us in the long run.
Patients who are in hospitals and are sick should really change their diet. I think the best way to educate someone about feeling better through food is feeding them good food. It does seem like an obvious, easy solution, but I think that it's hard to take a step back and look at simple ways to fix things.
