Food & Farming / News & Views / Our Voices: Cheers to Munson Medical Center for hosting end-of-season farmers market!
Our Voices: Cheers to Munson Medical Center for hosting end-of-season farmers market!
Recent Comments
- Mark Coe: Having had the oppertunity to present at a local school with Meghan and Leanna, supporting the work Food Corps does is a wonderful thing. They provide a learning oppertunity to our children in agricu...
- Linda Hutchinson: Great! Having been raised on a farm, near Arcadia, I wish my dad who was a Farmer's Market regular in the 60's, 70's and 80's, was here to be involved in the "farm to table" and "local food" initiati...
- Dale Scheiern: It is easy to store and enjoy all winter long too!! Take 1 qt. freezer bags, fill to the point they will lay fairly flat ( not rounded) so they stack easily in the freezer. Local fruit all winter lo...
- Sharron May, The May Farm: You are correct if you are referring to industrial monocultures of animal or plant agriculture which are extractive, organic or not. Fortunately there are small farms pioneering more regenerative prac...
- LillyM: I've been fortunate enough to meet and work with Lianna and hope to meet Meghan. Every FoodCorps volunteer I have met over the years has been incredible. A phenomenal organization with dedicated and...
Last week was an exciting time at Munson Medical Center as they hosted their very first end-of-season farmers market on campus in Traverse City.
Four farms were invited to come and sell their produce to employees and visitors alike.
In a spot just outside the parking deck, not far from the employee cafeteria, farms set up their tents and sold apples, squash, pumpkins, honey, eggs, lettuce, and more.
Stan Dziesinski wandered by the market on his way from the Hospitality House.
“I’m from Alpena and my wife is having surgery here,” Mr. Dziesinski said. “I noticed the market as I was passing by and thought I’d stop in and take a look. The apples look really nice! You can tell they’re better quality than some you see at the store. I bought both apples and honey.”
“This is nice!” said Marilyn Selby, food service worker at Munson. “It’s very convenient. It’s always wonderful when they do these seasonal things. I wish we had this every week!”
Diana Jelenek of Spring Hollow Dairy said the employees of Munson were excited to have representatives from local farms present. In addition to running the dairy, she and her husband, Richard, are also market masters for a winter farmers market that takes place every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons.
She said the Munson market was “a great promotion for our (own) Saturday market (as well.)”
Laura McCain, registered dietician in Food and Nutrition Services at Munson, organized the market at Munson and was pleased with the results.
“Our goal is to promote community health, which includes healthy eating,” Ms. McCain said. “The farmers market helps make local produce easily available to the community, both our employees and our visitors. As a dietician—I love that!”
Throughout the growing season, McCain worked hard to feature local produce on the menu in the Munson cafeteria. Beginning with asparagus in the spring, and ending with squash in the fall, they would regularly feature locally grown items in lunch entrées, and also have those same items—such as bags of apples, or bunches of asparagus—available for sale.
“It’s been a great success,” she said. “We regularly sell out of whatever local item we feature.”
Great job, Laura! And thank you Munson Medical Center, for supporting healthy, local eating!
