Year-round greenhouse farm serving fresh produce on the UPMC Memorial Hospital campus

Lettuce, radishes and other vegetables are growing in three, temperature-controlled greenhouses, technically called high tunnels, that sit near Loucks Road on the campus of UPMC Memorial in West Manchester Township.

It marks the first planting for the Farm to Hospital program aimed at offering fresh food to help fight the root causes of illnesses, such as heart and renal diseases, and to support healthy women and babies. It's paired with fitness, mindfulness and spiritual healing.

The project is led by Dr. KimberLee Mudge of Leader Surgical Associates-UPMC. The breast surgeon who dabbles in hobby farming had been reading about the failure to address wellness amid the high-tech advances and rising costs in healthcare. In addition, many people no longer eat for nourishment as they did a century ago − nowadays it's for entertainment.

"... here we are in a society that's full of obesity. We've lost sight of exercise and being outside," she said. "We eat processed foods because they can feed more people in mass production. And we're losing sight of what it means to be healthful."

UPMC Memorial focuses on fitness, mindfulness and nutrition

When UPMC approached Leader Surgical Associates about joining forces on its new campus years ago, Mudge said she felt it was time to make a push for a paradigm shift. With the help of others, including Phil Guarneschelli, now-retired president of UPMC in Central Pa., and Jessica Ritchie, now president of UPMC Pinnacle Foundation, they started working toward a creating a program of wellness.

The first step was to create a walking trail. The hospital campus sits on a former golf course, and the paved cart paths were saved for the walkway. When the COVID pandemic hit, the community came out to use it, Mudge said.

The second phase involved the installation of the Breast Cancer Garden of Hope at the trailhead. It's intended to offer emotional healing.

Now, they have turned their attention to the farm. They aligned with York Fresh Food Farms, a nonprofit organization that grows healthy food for the community, including those who live in food desert neighborhoods. Farmer Bruce Manns tends to the crops in the high tunnels.

This is one of the first farms on a hospital campus in the central Pennsylvania region, Manns said.