Tomatoes are almost ready for the picking at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital’s Smart Farm near Lake Barrington. (Brian Hill | Staff Photographer)
Most of the healing and wellness at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital take place in its treatment rooms and patient beds.
But just outside the hospital’s Lake Barrington-area campus, the seeds for another form of healing and wellness are growing.
The hospital’s 2-acre Smart Farm grows corn, lettuce and other produce practically throughout the year to help combat hunger.
Produce from the farm goes to pantries in Barrington and Carpentersville, and regular shipments of food are delivered to Advocate Trinity Hospital, located in an area on Chicago’s South Side troubled by food insecurity.
The farm’s goods also are sold at a weekly farmers market held Fridays on the property, 490 W. Route 22, and at the hospital every other Thursday. Proceeds from those sales help fund farm operations.
“Our goal right now is to really provide food for those that are in need and who are food insecure,” said Jasmine Everett, director of hospital services. At Trinity Hospital, the produce is part of a “Food Farmacy” that provides items to patients in need.
More here.
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