At Boston Medical Center, patient care includes programs that you probably don't think of as traditional medicine. And yet, they have a huge impact on people's well-being.
This year, BMC opened a second rooftop garden, where fresh food is grown and then delivered to the hospital's food pantry, which serves patients who are food insecure.
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"I find myself eating more healthy," explained patient Malinda King. "And now I'm more into salads and yogurts. It's really been a good process for me, I must say."
Latchman Hiralall has been managing the food pantry since its launch in 2001.
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"When we started the program, we thought we were going to serve 500 people per month. We were serving 7,000 people per month," Hiralall said. They serve all kinds of patients with a range of medical issues, including food allergies, diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure and more. The program is on referral, so they know what type of food to provide.
While the bulk of the food comes from the Greater Boston Food Bank, more than 6,000 pounds this year was fresh-picked from the rooftop gardens run by the hospital.
"We chose to grow a lot of crops that are easily identifiable," said Sarah Hastings, farm manager for the BMC rooftop farms. "We also grow a lot of crops that are significant to different cultures."
"So many of our patients are living in what we call food deserts. So places where there is not a lot of access to healthy, fresh foods," said Dr. Anna Goldman. "That can lead to chronic conditions, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity. So access to healthy, fresh food is hugely impactful, on our patients in terms of those chronic conditions."
Most of the food from the rooftop farms serves the pantry. About 1/3 of it goes to patient meals, and there is also a farmer's market for staff. The farm remains open through the end of October for now, though organizers are hoping to build a greenhouse so they can keep it growing fresh vegetables year-round.
