New program for diabetics offers free nutrition classes and fresh produce from the hospital’s farm.
Shopping at the Farmacy.
Photo courtesy of Augusta Health
Denise Campbell, 53, had never tried an eggplant before. “I just didn’t like the looks of it,” she says. But after receiving encouragement from a new Augusta Health program, she took home one of the vegetables to try. After adding salt, garlic, and Parmesan cheese, she roasted it on a cookie sheet. “And you talk about good,” says Campbell. “It was good.” Now, eggplants are a regular part of her grocery list.
The Waynesboro resident is getting to know more about vegetables as part of an inaugural 16-week Farm Farmacy program created by the Fishersville hospital. Held weekly, the program is open to Type II diabetics who have an A1C (blood glucose) level of 7.5 or more. The program, which started in July with 20 participants, is free but requires a physician referral.
“There’s a cooking demonstration that takes place, led by one of our chefs, at every class. The chef uses food from our farm,” says Krystal Moyers, Augusta Health’s community outreach manager. Dishes have included summer squash sautéed with red pepper and citrus herb salmon with marinated roasted beets.
Along with the recipes, for the duration of the program, participants receive vouchers for free vegetables grown on the 1.25-acre farm located on the hospital’s campus. In January, Augusta Health started the farm with another nonprofit partner, the Allegheny Mountain Institute. The harvest is also used for patient meals, for guests of the hospital’s cafeteria and catering program, and for the farm stand, located in the lobby of the hospital and open to the public.
The farm and diabetes programs grew out of a Community Health Needs Assessment that the hospital completed in 2016, which identified nutrition as a top concern. The prevalence of diabetics in the Staunton, Augusta County, and Waynesboro area is 13.9 percent, compared to 9.4 percent nationwide. The program helps motivated diabetics like Campbell improve their health. “In 2005, [another health provider] told me I was a diabetic, and that’s all they told me,” says Campbell. With the help of the Farm Farmacy, “I think I’m learning what healthy cooking is and my A1C is coming down. What I’m trying to do for myself is bring my diabetes under control so I can go off the medicine.”
Less than halfway through the program, participants were already showing decreases in their blood pressure and body measurement indexes [BMIs]. “But more importantly than that, we’re seeing a difference in people’s attitudes. They’re enjoying the produce and having so much fun trying new recipes,” says Moyers. “I believe they feel empowered through the program to be able to do something healthier and better care for themselves.” AugustaHealth.com
This article originally appeared in our December 2018 issue.
