On Friday, October 7th, Flushing Hospital Medical Center and Sodexo Registered Dietitians Laura Wang and Michelle Hill hosted the successful Farmers Market Tour (also known as the Grow NYC GreenMarket Tour) at the very busy Corona Queens location. The event was part of Flushing Hospital’s initiative to give the communities it serves more access to fresh, local fruits and vegetables.

The hospital has collaborated with the New York City Department of Health (NYCDOH) and Grow NYC to provide Health Bucks to patients who visit the Women’s Health Clinic.  According to the NYCDOH, “Health Bucks are paper vouchers, each worth $2.00.  They are distributed by the NYC Health Department’s District Public Health Offices and can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at participating markets.”

Typically a customer needs to spend $5 of EBT funds to receive $2 Health Bucks, to be used at any participating GreenMarket, however, this program allows participants to receive Health Bucks without using their own funds. Additionally, the participants received two times the dollar amount in Health Bucks for attending the GreenMarket Tour.

Several weeks before the Farmers Market tour took place in Corona, Flushing Hospital’s dietitians coordinated a community outreach event in the waiting room of the Women’s Health Clinic.  They distributed Health Bucks, taught visitors how to infuse fresh herbs with their drinking water and shared healthy recipes as well as information about the GreenMarket Tour.

Michelle Hill, Chief Clinical Dietitian, stated, “It was a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of eating fresh fruits and vegetables and how to obtain them locally.” She continued, “This program is important because it is a way to help people afford and prepare for a healthy lifestyle while supporting regional farmers”