Sinai Hospital of LifeBridge Health created an employee garden. The hospital felt it was important to work on projects that enhance employee engagement and give back to staff members. Sinai Hospital already had a bi-monthly farmers’ market, which was an important first step in raising awareness of sustainable, healthy food.

With the goal of making the project employee-driven, the hospital decided to take the next step of creating a plot-based garden. Sinai understood the health and environmental benefits of home-grown food and the psychological and emotional benefits of gardening for employees. Currently 36 gardeners are registered to work in teams of at least 5 gardeners on the 18 plots, with one plot allocated to a family of six in the community. To recruit the teams, the garden steering committee led a campaign called “Adopt a Plot.” Pesticides were prohibited, but the teams were given great flexibility on their plots.

The committee that spearheaded the project has gotten enthusiastic feedback and the crop yield has been fantastic, including radishes, broccoli, spinach, herbs, and more. The committee also plans to incorporate more community and food-service benefits as the project grows.