A parking lot at Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt Manor was turned into a vibrant marketplace in late July.
The inaugural edition of the HVHC Farmers”™ Market drew a healthy lunchtime crowd that had its pick of farm-fresh and often organic items ranging from tomatoes to sweet corn, jams to meat and flowers to prepared foods and baked goods. Also on hand at the event on July 31 were hospital nutritionists and master gardeners from Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Winter Sun Farms in New Paltz was offering samples of homemade blueberry muffins to entice shoppers to stop by and hear Sarah Nagle talk about its Winter Share program that offers Hudson Valley produce throughout that season. Starting in December, Nagle said, the hospital will become a pick-up site for program participants.
After leaving the Winter Farms booth, Irene Campbell of Cortlandt Manor, who heard about the market from a brochure at her senior center, allowed a peek into her shopping ”“ an all-natural spinach-and-goat-cheese quiche along with a tomato and some lettuce.
Meanwhile, Taina Scalf, the admitting manager of the hospital, was spending some of her lunch break at the market.
“I get excited over things like this,” she said.
The market, she added, reflects the healthier approach the hospital has been integrating.
“They”™ve made a lot of changes in the cafeteria,” she said, noting items such as soy milk being on offer.
From the moment she heard of the market through internal channels, Scalf said she had a goal in mind.
“I knew I wanted cheese,” she said, heading off to find some.
Steps away, hospital president John C. Federspiel was enjoying an early lunch.
“This is green gazpacho from Rogowski farm. It”™s really delicious,” he said of the soup featured by W. Rogowski Farm in Pine Island. “The soil (there) is so rich and fertile, they don”™t have to use any chemicals.”
Federspiel said he was pleased with the response the market was receiving.
“This is a continuation, an extension if you will, of the Harvest for Health project we kicked off in the spring,” he said.
The healthy-eating initiative also includes Seeds for Health, an educational and therapeutic program for cancer patients and their families conducted through the on-site Organic Garden for Healing. The garden offers hands-on lessons on nutrition and the therapeutic value of gardening.
“The farmers”™ market is an outgrowth of our garden,” Federspiel added.
Myra Marsocci, who designed the garden through her Crompond-based company Shades of Green, had a booth filled with products such as edamame, cucumbers and “pick-its,” her term for herbs such as rosemary, sage and thyme that people can grow to add a healthy and flavorful touch to their own cooking.
Providing the community a way to connect with what was on offer ”“ such as Marsocci”™s herbs do ”“ is another way to spread the healthy message, Federspiel added.
“We”™re really trying to encourage our community to buy local and eat healthy. This market really meets so many of our goals.”
And those goals, he added, include increasing the amount of locally sourced vegetables and produce, along with made-from-scratch meals, served throughout the hospital.
“This initiative has really generated some great contacts,” he added.
Among those, he noted, was Glynwood in Cold Spring, which not only encourages people to support farming and conserve farmland but also works its own land as a prime example.
Dave Llewellyn, the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) manager of Glynwood, called the market “fantastic and important” and was already seeing all kinds of customers.
“Some people have just a few minutes and want to buy some produce and run, and some people want to stop and hear about what we do. It”™s our job to read people,” he said with a smile.
The market, Llewellyn added, already shows great potential.
“I think we”™re going to see a lot of wonderful things happening.”
The market schedule will continue from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, Aug. 28, Sept. 25, Oct. 30 and Nov. 20 at the hospital center, at 1980 Crompond Road. For more details, visit hvhc.org.
