| Ethical Eating Team: St. Joe's Farm Tour |
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St. Joe's Farm-at-the-Hospital TourDan Bair led a tour of the Farm at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti for about 20 UUAAs on Sunday, March 27th after church. After a light lunch at the sandwich shop in the hospital, we drove over to the farm. Dan showed us the two large (90' x 30') hoop houses on the premises. It did our hearts good on a cold and sunny day to be in these warm, lovely spaces filled with vibrant green plants! There was chard, spinach, and much more. Seeing the hoop houses from the inside gave us a better idea of what we'll be working on when a group from the UUAA builds a hoop house on April 30th.
Dan explained that, though not certified organic, he doesn't use chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilizer. They buy large batches of compost from a farm for fertilizer.
We also saw the fields outside where they plant other crops. Dan explained that a man with a team of horses plows the fields in the spring. They are currently planted with a cover crop. Dan showed us where the bee hives had been - only one hive out of four survived the winter. He doesn't know why, but other area farmers reported the same thing.
The farm requires a lot of work, and Dan explained that he gets help from many volunteers.
There is a farmer's market inside the hospital every Wednesday. Dan explained that currently the farm doesn't produce enough to feed the patients, but spinach has made its way into soups in the cafeteria, and they hope to have more and more farm produce both in cafeteria and patient food in the future.
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