Mikkal Hodge, farm project coordinator for Community Hospital Anderson, shows off some of the produce grown through the Community Farm as part of a farm stand program, which will have its last distribution of the season on Aug. 28. Submitted photo
ANDERSON — The Community Farm has expanded its services again.
The farm, located behind Community Hospital Anderson, recently opened a farm stand where produce is distributed directly to local residents as part of a four-week trial.
Approximately 700 pounds of freshly-grown produce was distributed on Wednesday, during the third farm stand event.
The fourth distribution is scheduled for Aug. 28 from 4 to 6 p.m.
“It’s part of the hospital helping people to be healthy outside of being a patient,” said Mikkal Hodge, farm project coordinator for Community Hospital Anderson.
The farm has peppers, tomatoes, kale, collard greens and zucchini available and will offer squash, including yellow and acorn squash this fall.
It will also offer pie pumpkins, which are considered to be sweeter and more dense than conventional pumpkins.
The farm operates from May to September and is expected to produce approximately 25,000 pounds of vegetables by the season’s end.
Local individuals aren’t the only recipients of the produce.
Operation Love Ministries, a local assistance organization, and Pete’s Pantry, an Alexandria-based nonprofit, are two major recipients, Hodge said.
Operation Love fed 7,541 people in 2023 through its food pantry program, according to Executive Director Andrea Baker.
Those numbers are likely driven by recent hikes in the cost of living.
Recent federal data suggests food prices, in particular, have recently decreased, but families are still feeling the fallout from previous years, making items like fresh meats and produce luxuries for many.
“It’s everything (to lowincome families). ... Having that fresh, available produce is such a huge part of having a balanced and healthy diet,” Baker said, describing its value to low-income families.
“Whenever we survey our neighbors in need, they’re constantly saying meat and fresh produce is pretty much their biggest need all of the time.”
Operation Love officially partnered with the hospital in 2023, but is always looking for more agricultural partners, Baker said.
Tom Bannon, vice president of community engagement and chief foundation officer at Community Hospital, said ensuring access to fresh produce has been the foundation’s goal since the farm’s founding in 2017.
Accessing fruits and vegetables in only half the battle, he said. Knowing how to cook them is the other half.
Bannon said cooking classes are being offered at the farm’s Jetty Center to help locals eat healthier.
The Madison County Health Department is adopting a similar approach with its healthy eating initiative, which is scheduled to launch in January.
Bannon said the hospital isn’t currently partnering with the department but would be open to doing so.
The farm will expand its services next spring to provide fresh peaches and apples, which will be available free of charge.
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