Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – FriYay/Goodnews

~ John W. Howell
First Hospital Rooftop garden-released by Boston Medical Center

Today’s good news Comes from The Good News Network.

Boston Hospital Is Treating Food as Medicine with its Own Rooftop Garden

By

Andy Corbley –

It’s a worldwide paradox: why is it so common for hospital food to be essentially bad for you?

Tackling the problem head-on, Boston Medical Center—already one of the greenest hospitals in the nation—has opened two extensive rooftop gardens. These gardens give patients and physicians access to fresh food while adding green space to the hospital campus.

BMC had one rooftop garden, through which it supplied fresh foods to its cafeteria and inpatient catering. Now, a second one, utilizing the ample rooftop space of the hospital campus, can also provide fresh foods to underserved communities, cementing BMC as a place of healing, whether through a shot in the arm or a vibrant kale salad.

Through a partnership with Boston Area Gleaners, fruits and vegetables cultivated in the 4,915-square-foot grow space will be distributed to local non-profits and community centers twice weekly during the growing season. This will address food insecurity and increase access to essential fresh foods across Boston.

Called the ‘Newmarket Farm,’ it triples BMC’s total grow space and quadruples the amount of produce BMC expects to grow annually. The new garden will specialize in growing vegetables, including collard greens, kale, and arugula, as well as culturally relevant crops, including Aji Dulce peppers, bok choy, and callaloo.

It will also advance BMC Health System’s commitment to sustainability. The green space reduces heat-absorbing pavement in the community and slows stormwater runoff impact, as plants collect and retain rainwater directly. The garden operates while reducing water waste through high-tech irrigation that waters the crops directly at the root.

“Our rooftop farms increase green space in our community, reduce the hospital’s carbon footprint, and strengthen at-risk local food systems. We are proud to expand fresh food availability in the local community while adding more pathways to support critical clinical programs, like the Preventive Food Pantry, in our hospital,” said David Maffeo, Senior Director of Support Services at BMC.

“The Newmarket Farm models how hospitals can further invest in the health of our communities while building environmentally resilient spaces.”

BMC has a program called Food Is Medicine, which works with a local grocer to craft labeling formats that speak directly to citizens’ disease risks and/or desire for knowledge about better nutrition.

For example, food items that may help control blood sugar are expressed on the packaging as being better for diabetics, or foods that may help lower blood pressure are labeled as potentially heart-healthy.

The city’s cultural diversity has seen the labeling materials printed in a variety of languages, from Vietnamese to Haitian-Creole.

The good news in this article is space is being put to use for the good of the community and hospital patients. Today’s JohnKu talks about clear thinking. I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Genius by John W. Howell © 2024

Who’s idea was that?

To use roofspace to feed folks . . .

Utter pure brillance.

 

91 thoughts on “Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – FriYay/Goodnews”

  1. I remember staying in student accommodation of Edinburgh university one year when visiting the Edinburgh festival. It was a reasonably priced option. When we arrived – we were in a room in the top block of the tiered facility we looked out across the roofs of the lower blocks. Each were covered in grow bags. I thought how good the students were growing their own veg and said so. My wife whose eyesight was sharper laughed. They’re all cannabis she said. Mind you trying to grow cannabis outside in Scotland indicates hope beating experience rather easily. Nice story john!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Rooftop gardens really need to be more common. Though, it isn’t possible in areas with slanted rooves. Schools might want to consider it to help with giving students healthier options that they’ll throw in the garbage. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Many years ago, when I heard about rooftop gardens, I thought it was a brilliant idea. Since then, I’ve wished I could see more gardens (or just an occasional tree) on roofs. I love this idea of a hospital growing food on the roof! And I agree that food is medicine. Eating homemade soup in the cold months certainly makes me feel good.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. This is a great example of “killing two birds with one stone.” It looks like contributing to a solution for food insecurity, furthering green space, and reducing water waste *can* peacefully coexist. Well done!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Yes, brilliant! The food our hospitals serve is often inedible. Hubs was at Duke for a week and I had to bring him in meals every day from outside the hospital. The stuff they gave him to eat was awful.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. As the JohnKu points out, It’s a brilliant idea whose time is now.

    Although there are more rooftop and community gardens every year, we have a long way to go.

    However, baby steps count. I know this from building gowns by hand, one stitch at a time- needle in, needle out . When I begin, it’s a daunting monster.

    Time passes, the stitches add up and a gown has been created.

    Thank you for your weekly good news posts John!

    🐂 🐖 🐷𝐗

    Like

  18. Fantastic…. Wonderful they are embracing freshly home grown produce… This brings Hope to my heart!.. Many thanks John for sharing this article… We need more people to follow this idea…

    Have a lovely weekend x

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Perhaps this will become a trend at more hospitals. One of the hospitals in our area has a garden that the emplyees maintain.

    Liked by 1 person

  30. This is a really smart idea, and I’m glad it’s being utilized because we really do need to make sustainability a priority. Which it already SHOULD be, but for the lip service in too many parts that has solved little. Nice story Sheriff.

    Liked by 1 person

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