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For decades, advocates of organic farming have made the case that food and health are inseparable.
One organization that understood this before almost any of its peers was St. Luke’s University Health Network in Pennsylvania.
In 2014, it joined forces with Rodale Institute, the birthplace of organic in the U.S., ultimately making St. Luke’s a model for health care institutions across the country to reimagine how they heal and serve.
HEALTH AT ITS CORE
St. Luke’s University Health Network has long been a leader in wellness, from being one of the first U.S. hospitals to ban employee smoking to its early embrace of organic agriculture.
So, with both the desire and plenty of land to grow its own food, St. Luke’s reached out to Rodale for help, and the agreement called for Rodale to staff and operate the farm on the premises of the Anderson Campus of St. Luke’s Hospital in Easton, Pennsylvania. This 14-acre farm — the nation’s first certified organic farm at a hospital — produces 30 types of produce in 70 different varieties, including apples and pears, as well as raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.
In addition to organic food being served to patients, visitors and staff at all twelve of the kitchens at St. Luke’s University Health Network, 450 employees participate in the hospital’s CSA (community supported agriculture) program.
Furthermore, the hospital’s dedication to organic has made a significant difference in its residency program for doctors, which it started in 2019.
St. Luke’s acknowledges that simply having an organic farm is not going to put it on even footing with the likes of Mass General Hospital in Boston, for example, but for younger, aspiring doctors who have a personal interest in lifestyle medicine and organic farming, this has certainly played to the benefit of St. Luke’s.
“Not every resident cares but many do,” said Edward Nawrocki, president, East Region and St. Luke’s Anderson Campus, and the person overseeing the Rodale partnership. “We have a good track record of matching (the system that matches medical school graduates with hospitals of their preference), and many of these candidates mention how the commitment to organic from St. Luke’s is extremely attractive to them.”
IMPACT IS FELT NEAR AND FAR
While the majority of people may wonder why organic and fresh whole foods are not served at every hospital, the reality is that it can only happen with the full support of hospital leadership, which was certainly the case at St. Luke’s.
Its embrace of organic reinforces the value system to employees and patients alike at St. Luke’s, yet the impact is spreading well beyond the confines of its operations in Pennsylvania.
The national organic consulting team of Rodale Institute is now working with hospitals and institutions around the nation who are looking to implement a similar program as St. Luke’s, and on October 9 in Charlottesville, Virginia, Rodale will be co-hosting a Farm-to-Institution Symposium focused on organic farming at teaching hospitals and universities.
“This partnership with St. Luke’s is showing doctors and hospital administrators throughout the U.S. not just what is possible but what is essential. Any outcome related to health and wellness must include organic food,” said Jeff Tkach, CEO of Rodale Institute.
(Edward Nawrocki, president, East Region and St. Luke’s Anderson Campus, and the person overseeing the Rodale partnership.)
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With gratitude, 
Max Goldberg, Founder |
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