Independence Health hosts farmers markets in hospital parking lots

At Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, surgeon Dr. Hiroyuki Tsukui often sees patients with heart failure.

“We know that the risk factor for heart attacks is hypertension, the other one is dyslipidemia, which means high cholesterol,” Tsukui said.

Tsukui has had patients with exceptionally poor diets who have required emergency bypass surgeries or heart stents due to clogged arteries. He recalled one patient who drank 3 liters of Mt. Dew a day.

Poor diet and lack of access to healthy food are a few of the obstacles to patients adopting a healthy diet.

A new program at Independence Health System hospitals aims to help bridge that gap.

The health system, which stretches across hospitals in Butler, Clarion and Westmoreland counties, has partnered with the Westmoreland County Farm Bureau to hold farmers markets on the last Wednesday of every month in the parking lots of three hospitals through October.

Janelle Craig, a clinical dietitian at Westmoreland Hospital who organized the markets, said the goal is to promote healthy eating habits.

The first market, held on Wednesday, May 29 at Westmoreland Hospital, hosted four vendors from the Westmoreland County Farm Bureau; it was primarily attended by hospital staff members.

Craig said that employees benefit from the market because they work on weekends and can’t make farmers markets in the area throughout the summer.

“We’re often seeing patients with heart failure and, unfortunately, often times readmissions because of heart failure,” Craig said. “Food plays a major role in maintaining their health.”

For patients, getting fresh food is crucial.

“They need to eat vegetables, fruit, balanced protein, fish, meat,” Tsukui said.

Struggles with access

Finding healthy food isn’t always easy. According to Jennifer Miller, CEO of the Westmoreland County Food Bank, healthy food can be too expensive for many households.

“With inflation being as high as it is and food prices being as high as they are, we’re seeing more food insecurity,” Miller said.

The number of households served per month by the food bank skyrocketed from 8,000 to 13,000 between 2022 and 2023.

According to Miller, the price of healthy meals is the main reason for the spike.

“When I go to the grocery store, it’s over $150,” Miller said. “You can imagine somebody on a fixed income. … (Their budget) is going to be small in comparison.”

Access to adequate transportation and a lack of cooking knowledge also can lead to unhealthy eating habits, Miller said.

A lack of energy or time to cook also contributes to unhealthy lifestyle choices. Christina Schmidt and Maggie Szypulski, Westmoreland Hospital employees who went to the first market, said that it can be a struggle to eat healthy due to their work schedules.

“I would say it’s a little harder,” Szypulski said.

“I eat as healthy as I possibly can,” Schmidt added.

Fresh food

At the farmers market at Westmoreland Hospital, vendors offered tips on how to prepare their goods.

Mike Little, the owner of Chaganra Farm in Unity and a meat vendor at the market, gave instructions on how to prepare his product.

“With respect to grass-fed beef, cook everything to temperature,” Little said. “It’s not like a fatty steak that has all kinds of ‘insulation,’ so to speak.”

Kayla Wallace, who sells freshly grown herbs, recommended putting her oregano in soups in place of salt for added flavor.

Although many of the vendors in the Westmoreland Farm Bureau had no produce to sell at the first market, it’s expected to grow.

“We expected it to be small for the first one,” Craig said. “Definitely it is expected to expand.”