Parkview Noble Community Health Improvement dollars are nourishing smart choices in Noble County with the addition of new community garden beds and the selling of the produce from those beds at farm stands in various locations throughout the county.

The project, which began in 2015, is run by Activate Noble County (ANC), a coalition founded by Parkview Noble Hospital and the local YMCA to help improve the health of Noble County residents.

ANC has supported various projects throughout the county since its inception more than 10 years ago. But the addition of the community garden beds has been the most recent and has a special task of helping provide healthy choices for residents of Noble County living in food deserts – areas where fresh, healthy and affordable produce is not typically available.

“Parkview Noble is proud to partner with so many local organizations in Noble County to provide opportunities like the one described here with Activate Noble County,” Gary Adkins, president of Parkview Noble Hospital, said. “There are many organizations that share our vision of improving the health and well-being of our community.  We value these partnerships and the opportunity that they provide us to make a difference for the residents of Noble County.”

Originally 18 beds were constructed with six each at three locations – Parkview Noble Center for Healthy Living, the Cole Center Family YMCA and the Kendallville Parks Department. Last year, CHI provided the funds for ANC to add six more beds at the Center for Healthy Living and to take the farm stand on the road.

In its first year, the farm stand was set up at the Center for Healthy Living on the Parkview Noble Hospital campus and, on alternate weeks, at the Cole Center Family YMCA.  With produce prices at just $1 per pound, a total of 184 pounds of produce were sold.

In 2017, with the addition of more beds and the farm stand being added twice a month in Ligonier, 210 pounds of produce was sold.

The gardens contain tomatoes, a variety of peppers, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, potatoes and several kinds of squash.

Taylor Yoder, supervisor of the Parkview Noble Center for Healthy Living and ANC chairperson explained, “The farm stand is intended to give people in our area healthier and affordable choices for fresh produce.”

With many people in Noble County living in what is deemed “food deserts” and with “food insecurity” ANC is helping eliminate some of those issues during the summer months.

“We have done research into food deserts and food insecurities in Noble County and are pleased the farm stands both here at the Center and at the YMCA are hitting those people who are living in food deserts in our community,” Yoder added.