We have had the pleasure of meeting many community members who have offered time and energy to help us at the Farm. If you have any interest in volunteering, please call us at 734.712.Hoop. Our volunteers keep the program running and provide wonderful suggestions and stories that enrich our days at The Farm. We are always grateful for helping hands and the opportunity to talk about The Farm. Farmer Dan Bair and Lisa McDowell welcomed former Detroit Red Wings hockey player, Jiri Fischer and his son, Braidan Simmons-Fischer to work in the hoop house for an entire day! Jiri wanted to expose Braidan to manual labor and farm work so he could gain an understanding of the effort required to grow healthy food.

Jiri and Braidan helped us pull out the Swiss chard, beets and carrots to make room for summer crops. Being a professional hockey player requires the best possible food to fuel performance. Jiri is no stranger to the rigors of keeping in shape and as the Director of Player Development for the Wings, Jiri often reinforces the message about proper nutrition and the benefits of fresh, whole foods. We were excited to have Jiri and Braidan at The Farm. It certainly may be possible that we will see Braidan as a future Wing (if he continues to eat his colorful vegetables)!

As Jiri and Braidan made room in the first hoop house for new crops, Farmer Dan will  be planting tomatoes in one entire hoop house to meet the demand for our patient’s menu as well as The Market cafeteria. SJMH continues to incorporate fresh produce when possible. With the continued rise in obesity, we want to promote fresh, whole foods whenever possible. Half of Americans will be obese by 2030 if things continue the way they are now, according to four new papers in the Lancet. At SJMH, we are focusing on optimizing the health of our hospital environment by leading by example. We want the healthy choice to be the tastier choice!  By making nutritious, wholesome foods more avilable than procesed, packaged, junk food, we will begin to eat healthier.