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begin to sprout. She’s also considering a “food-guide pyramid” garden to promote nutritional awareness and healthy eating habits. Shaped as a triangle, the garden would be divided into sections with different plants representing the essential food groups. She admits she struggles with how to represent dairy and meat: “Maybe a plant cows would eat...a plant that feeds the chicken.”
Meanwhile, Diamond is scouting for more garden space on the grounds of Idylwood, located in the middle of an urban neighborhood. “Everyday there is something a little bit different, and nowhere is it near done,” he says of the garden and its possibilities.
BUYING LOCALLY-GROWN
FOOD
Buying locally costs more, but the increased morale, quality of life and nutritional habits that result from going green are worth it – a concept his organization’s ownership supports, says Diamond. With their approval in hand, he searched for guaranteed supplies of local produce and dairy products. The facility serves nearly 600 meals daily, more than many restaurants, and could be a large business account for small growers in the area.
So far, lettuce, fresh fruit, tomatoes and broccoli are purchased from local growers, and efforts are ongoing to expand the variety and volume of food, says Elizabeth Velazquez, Food Manager. The struggle, adds Sandy Narasimhan, Registered Dietician,
is nding locally-grown produce in suf cient quantity to meet their needs throughout the year. Currently, they can’t tap the garden for the shortfall. State regulations require all meals
be prepared with food from certi ed sources. Diamond initially wanted the garden to become certi ed, but that goal is shelved for now.
Instead, the garden’s vegetables are used in the test kitchen (see Soups On!) and group cooking activities. Since residents voluntarily participate and are aware that the food used in the activities comes from their garden, they are not prohibited by the “certi ed source” regulation. The process allows them to make decisions and exert a little control over their lives, says Diamond. In the meantime, “we’re seeing what we can do in California regulatory-wise to promote that eating products from our garden is as safe as produce distributed from, say, Chile,” he adds.
FARMERS’ MARKET, MORE
IDEAS STEWING
When Diamond began planning a farmers’ market, staff rolled their eyes. “We’ve got too much on our plates already,” they said. The idea was to invite local growers to join residents a couple times a month in selling produce in the nursing home’s parking lot. Along with veggies, residents would also sell prepared soup and salad.
But Diamond backed off, allowing time for staff to digest the idea. Now, half a year later, it is staff who clamor for a farmers’ market. So much is being grown it is rotting
before it can be used. “We have 90 broccoli plants...we have to start a farmers’ market,” says Narasimhan, the dietician. Staff is becoming more enthusiastic, she adds, because they are beginning to understand what they can do on a personal level.
Had he insisted on his original timeline rather than letting staff warm to the idea at their own pace, it surely would have failed, says Diamond. As it is, “staff are coming up with ideas that I just never would have thought of.” Other ideas stewing:
• Food-related activity groups
that include more about science, botany, history, culture and healthy lifestyles;
• Cooperative gardens at Idylwood that include participation by elders from area senior centers and assisted living facilities;
• Periodic “high-end,” gourmet meals prepared at Idylwood that draw paying customers from the outside community. “It will be a celebration and bring people together,” says Diamond. And like the farmers’ market, it would create revenue to help offset the nancial costs of going green.
Plans for an intergenerational program remain on the back burner, but meanwhile there is lots of informal sharing of skills and coming together within the Idylwood community. People there are growing in their understanding of each other and the natural world. Change isn’t happening as quickly as he originally intended, says Diamond, but it’s occurring at a deeper level now that it’s allowed to evolve naturally with all stakeholders at the table.
©2008 Action Pact, Inc.
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