Farm Adventures: Full Belly Farm

When I joined the SFGH Natural Foods Access Team, I had little sense of how exciting a project it would be. In the past week since I began as an intern, I have been more inspired than I could have ever imagined. It was my mother, Cynthia Wiseman-Kelly, who encouraged me to get involved in the hospital community. She has been a social worker at SFGH for the past sixteen years and she is passionate about her work. When she mentioned the Natural Foods internship to me, I was certain the opportunity was too good to be true. For the past several years I have had a strong interest in nutrition and sustainable agriculture. SFGH is taking remarkable initiative to promote the consumption of natural and local foods, and I am thrilled to be a part of such an endeavor.

Last Wednesday’s trip to Full Belly Farm is a great example of one of the many perks of this project. Laura Critchfield, Kimberley and Corinne Grant, and I, spent the holiday visiting a farm in the beautiful Capay Valley. Full Belly Farm is one of nearly twenty in the Farm Shop network, and it is an impressive site to say the least. The 200 acres of abundant crops were a wonder to behold, and the farmers who tended to them were compassionate and insightful. What we predicted to be a quick tour of the land, turned into hours of exploring, learning, and socializing at the incredible farm.

We were fortunate enough to meet Judith Redmond, one of the owners of Full Belly Farm. She guided us past the pen of sheep and through the fields of broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, basil, and countless other thriving crops. She pointed out, and explained the importance of hedgerows when we passed the Marigolds and trekked through the field of peach, plum, apricot, and nectarine trees. Judith gave us each a sample of celery root – a vegetable I had never even heard of, but I am eager to have it again. One of the greatest things that Judith did was introduce us to a few farm laborers. We were especially pleased to meet Joaquina and her son, Edgar. Juaquina moved to the Capay Valley Region from Sinaloa and she has worked at Full Belly Farm for the past fifteen years. She gladly answered our questions about the farm, and told us how much she enjoys working there. Edgar was just as gracious as his mother – he shared with us about his classes at Sacramento State University and a project he’s doing for a lit class on comparing people’s experiences with CSAs and conventional groceries.

By the end of the visit, we were questioning our current occupations and considering a shift to farming! The amount that we learned about the land, the crops, and the farmers made the trip well worthwhile. My experience at Full Belly Farm was truly enjoyable and I hope to visit again soon.  Please come along!!

                 

- Morgan Kelly

Delicious! - Banana Bread (or muffins) courtesy of Starbucks

Banana Bread (or muffins) - courtesy of Starbucks

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 1/8 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ripe medium/large bananas, mashed

1/2cup + 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

 Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan and dust with flour, or line muffin pan with papers. Blend together the flour,  baking soda and salt and set aside. Mix together the egg, sugar and vegetable oil until combined. Add the flour mixture and when blended add the buttermilk, vanilla and mashed bananas. Mix until combined.

Fold in 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, if desired, and pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Top batter with remaining 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, if desired.

Bake for 45 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For muffins, cook for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 I recommend doubling the recipe and adding some nutmeg and cinnamon. YUM!

Delicious! - You’re Practically French! Salad Dressing

You’re Practically French! Salad Dressing

Juice of 1 lemon

1 fork full (approx 2 teaspoons) Dijon mustard

Salt to taste

Olive oil to double the volume of the lemon Dijon combination

One clove garlic (optional)

Add the lemon juice, salt, Dijon, and oil to the bottom of your salad bowl. Peel and smash one clove of garlic with the side of your knife (carefully!)

Beat together with your fork until it emulsifies. Add salad stuffs on top and toss when you are ready to eat.

Tip: if you are making a salad with fresh tomatoes add the tomatoes to the dressing in the bottom of the bowl, toss and let marinate a couple of minuets before adding the rest of the salad stuff.  

What is the Natural Foods Access Project all about?

Mission:
The San Francisco General Hospital Natural Foods Project is striving to create a healthy food environment for our community. We aim to make SFGH the first public hospital to give access to natural, locally grown, sustainable food to all of our patients, faculty, and staff.

Who are we?:
The Natural Foods Access Project started in May 2009 when 2 of our founding members met over lunch and began discussing food. When they shared with colleagues what they had discussed at lunch, they were interested and wanted to join in the discussion.

Many food related initiatives have been started in the past, but have not had the necessary support to get of the ground. The climate is right now for this project to have real success because the idea of changing the current food system and encouraging a shift to local, sustainable, natural foods is supported by the San Francisco mayor and the hospital CEO.

What are we doing?:
The project consists of several smaller projects which are

Farmers Market – The farmers market will be held at the hospital. This market will be unique in many ways. The time and location of the market will make healthy natural foods accessible to the hard working hospital employees as well as to patients. It will be able to accept Food Stamps and WIC vouchers.

CSA – Community Supported Agriculture is a system that allows people to have a basket of seasonal local produce each week. The baskets are made available at convenient on site pick-up location.

Free Farmers Market – SFGH’s primary patient base consists of vulnerable populations— the city’s homeless, marginally housed, immigrant, and un- and under-employed residents. The food pantry will be accessible feed clinic patrons. The focus of our project is to bring nutritious calories to the hospital community, and give patrons the tools to make healthy choices within their budget. The pantry will be supplied by the San Francisco Food bank. This project will be primarily run by volunteers who are also patients at the hospital and patrons of the pantry. The accessibility of natural foods to the clinic patients will empower the patients to participate in their own healthcare outcomes.

Sourcing of institutional food – the current dining options available for the patients, faculty and staff at SFGH will be revamped to be made from locally and sustainable grown natural foods. This is of particular importance because we must lead by example. A hospital is a place to heal, and one of the ways to do this is through food.

Nutrition Instruction – Local chefs will be invited to give cooking demonstrations and teach the community how to make delicious meals of their natural foods. We will also be working to compile recipe idea books based on dietary needs and available resources.

Why here?:
An abundance of unhealthy, unappetizing, and processed foods at SFGH contradicts the hospital’s mission of improving the care and comfort of patients. SFGH’s primary patient base consists of vulnerable populations— the city’s homeless, marginally housed, immigrant, and un- and under-employed residents. These patients are disproportionately affected by chronic diseases related to diet and nutrition including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and osteoporosis. It is becoming widely recognized that changes in diet are vital to chronic disease prevention and management. A 2003 World Health Organization (WHO) report states: “Nutrition is coming to the fore as a major modifiable determinant of chronic disease, with scientific evidence increasingly supporting the view that alterations in diet have strong effects, both positive and negative, on health throughout life. Chronic diseases are the main cause of premature death and disability among the poorer populations of industrialized countries.” Promoting healthy food and nutrition is fundamental to the effective treatment and care of SFGH patients.

Providing access to natural foods will empower patients to pursue opportunities for self care that complement the care they receive from providers. In addition to the convenience of one-stop shopping, the food pantry and other natural foods projects will help patients make the connection between nutrition and overall health. Recent surveys indicate that access to fresh foods is a matter of great interest to hospital staff. More than 10% of the hospital’s 5,500 employees have responded in the first two weeks of a survey, with 97% indicating a desire to increase their consumption of natural foods, and over 70% identifying a lack of convenient access as their number one barrier.