Amanda Belle's Farm

Interview and photos by Eric Baker Additional photos provided by CoxHealth

Click on the QR code to see more pictures and a video about the farm.

oxHealth is always looking for innovative ways to improve community health, so Amanda Belle’s Farm and Springfield Community Gardens were the ideal partners to achieve this goal.

Amanda Belle’s Farm being a part of Springfield Community Gardens, is used to grow produce through organic methods and aid in improving the nutrition status of patients at CoxHealth. The produce is also used in CoxHealth cafeterias and is available for sale to employees via a community-supported agriculture program.

Beginning in 2019, Amanda Belle's Farm is set up for a 22-week growing season, and is located across from Cox South off Primrose Street in Springfield, Missouri. The farm is funded by three separate government grants and named after Amanda Belle Cox, the mother of Lester E. Cox.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to visit the Farm and interview Maile Auterson, co-founder and director of Springfield Community Farms, along with Jason Bauer, who previously served as System Director of Food and Nutrition Services (he recently moved into a new role at CoxHealth) and was a champion of the project. ..............................................

So, how did this all come about? Was it something the CoxHealth system came to you and said, “What do you think about this?” Or did you approach CoxHealth?

Auterson: No, it was definitely something that came together at the same time with Jason Bauer, the food systems director at CoxHealth.

We had a community garden on Cox property at Cox North, the Midtown garden, and they let us use part of their kitchen and it started there, having conversations around local food and the importance of food for health. I began talking with Jason Bauer, discussing kind of like on a napkin. “Okay, what if we had food for the hospital and…oh…Cox has some land, we could do a farm

Maile Auterson

incubator and teach people how grow their own food again. That’s when I found out about Jason’s dream of a hospital farm for Cox and the community where everyone has access to healthy, local food.

So really a shared a vision of what could be.

Auterson: That’s right. They let us use part of their kitchen at Cox North and we created a quiche with our garden vegetables and they started to serve it at their cafeteria. So the idea just kind of jelled together. What if we took our resources and put them together. What could we do?

Then I began looking for funding for our project. We were able to get several USDA grants to do the hospital farm and our four farm incubators.

What was that like?

Auterson: It was so great. The USDA believed in our plan–everything. They were like, “Yes, yes, yes!” And so here we are.

That is so awesome.

Auterson: We’ve already had people notice. I had someone call me and say, “I’m looking at you right now. I’m with my husband and there’s a farm and greenhouses!” This is just when we had put the greenhouses up. And I was like, yes, that’s what we’re doing! This is not cheap land. Cox is choosing to put a farm here. Let’s think about that.

Being on this open field by Kickapoo High School, it would be hard NOT to notice. Had this always been the plan for this land?

Bauer: No, absolutely not. I think we’ve had this plot of land ever since the hospital was built. We could just as well put up a clinic or something that makes more money than a farm, I promise you. When I met with Steve Edwards (President of CoxHealth) you know, he was 100% supportive.

Auterson: He is really excited about it and the possibilities.

So will the five acres be dedicated for the farm? It sounds like you are on a mission.

Auterson: We are. I want this to be a model for the nation on how a hospital can come to us and go “How did you start your farm? How did you get local food to the hospital?”

Well, here’s how we did it. First, you have to find a champion in the hospital. Next, that champion is going to be your liaison with the farmer, and then you have to grow the farmer. You can't just grow the food. You have to grow the farmer first and then you grow the farm. That way everybody is a stakeholder in the project.

Jason Bauer

Bauer: Yes, it is. We’ll be adding three more high tunnels for a total of fie.

Auterson: We’ve added rye grass to help put nitrogen in the soil so we’ll also be adding flowers, zenias, dahlias, and others–four beds full. They’ll help make the farm beautiful. Of course flowers are pollinators, but they also help a farmer's bottom line.

We have a packing shed where we wash the vegetables and prepare them safely for the hospital. Safety is super important and we have to follow GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification. We’ll be teaching farmers all these components–how to build a packing shed, how to cultivate high-end vegetable growing in small spaces–so that they can sell safely to institutions.

MNDI Program at Cox College Sees Opportunities at Amanda Belle's Farm

The Nutrition Diagnostics and Dietetic Internship program at Cox College is excited that CoxHealth has partnered with Springfield Community Gardens. Students have volunteered at the various gardens around town. They hope to play a bigger role in the future. Creating videos and presentations showing the various ways fruits and vegetables can help with overall health is something the program is very excited about doing.

Brittany Carpenter, Clinical Dietitian Preceptor for the program, stated, “So what if we could take our patients and give them a prescription for a box of produce?" The dietitian could identify a patients specific needs, whether it’s food insecurity or various disease states like high blood pressure. "We know increasing fruits and vegetables has a big impact on that," adding that, "there could be a hypertension box, a kidney disease box, and included in them are recipes that the patient could follow.”

Carpenter would like to see students educate the public on the benefits of seasonal produce, develop recipes, and hold cooking classes for the public, etc.

For more information about the Nutrition Diagnostics and Dietetic Internship program, scan in the QR code to the right.

Food for Thought Is your plant-based diet complete?

By Callie Rancourt and Catherine Robohn

Dietetic interns at Cox College Nutrition Diagnostics Dietetic Internship program

In recent years, plant-based diets–in which people consume foods primarily from plants–have grown in popularity. While plant-based diets can offer benefis, it’s important to be conscious of the fact that when you give up meat or other animal products, you may also be giving up good sources of vitamins and minerals. Most vitamins and minerals are still easy to get, but there are a few that require attention. For example, Vitamin B12, zinc, selenium, and calcium require careful planning in your plant-based diet. Keep reading to learn more about each of these vitamins and minerals.

Food for Thought: s your plant-based diet complete?

Vitamin B12 is not produced by any plant, so having a supplement for this one is somewhat unavoidable. Taking a B12 supplement is crucial if you have few to no animal products you have few to no animal products in your diet. The recommended in your diet. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for B12 is daily allowance (RDA) for B12 is 2.4 mcg/day. An example of how to get An example of how to get Vitamin B12 through food Vitamin B12 through food is via soy milk, which has 3 is via soy milk, which has 3 mcg/cup. Keep in mind that mcg/cup. Keep in mind that not all soy milks are created not all soy milks are created equal and not all will have equal and not all will have B12 in them. Read the B12 in them. Read the nutrition label if you are nutrition label if you are relying on fortified food relying on fortified food products for your products for your B12 intake.

Zinc is largely found in seafood and other meats, but does occur in some plant foods. Beans and whole grains can be good sources of zinc. The best way to cook beans (and get the most zinc out of them) is to pressure cook them with the water they were soaked in. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you may cook them on the stovetop with the water they are soaked in. Calcium is most often found in dairy foods (milks, cheeses, etc.) but is available from plants as well. The RDA

During better times During better times

Zinc is a mineral that is important for immune function, skin health, and fighting infections. The RDA for zinc is 11 mg/day for men, and 8 mg/day for women.

Zinc is largely found in seafood and other meats, but does occur in some plant foods. Beans and whole grains can be good sources of zinc. The best way to cook beans (and get the most zinc out of them) is to pressure cook them with the water they were soaked in. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you may cook them on the stovetop with the water they are soaked in.

Calcium is most often found in dairy foods (milks, cheeses, etc.) but is available from plants as well. The RDA for calcium is 1,000 mg a day. Calcium is important for bone health, and low calcium intake can contribute to developing osteoporosis later in life if not regularly consumed.

Selenium is an essential trace element that is a part of some enzymes and proteins. The RDA is 55 mg.

Selenium is present in many foods like meat, seafood, dairy, and grains. Unlike some other nutrients, selenium can be a very easily consumed. Brazil nuts are incredibly high in selenium, having 90 mg in just one nut, almost twice the RDA. Brazil nuts are often part of mixed nuts or can be bought in bulk on their own. The safe consumption level of Selenium is 400 mg, so do not eat a lot of Brazil nuts thinking more is better.

References:

Feitosa, S., Greiner, R., Meinhardt, A., Müller, A., Almeida, D., & Posten, C. (2018, July 31). Effect of traditional Household processes on IRON, zinc and copper bioaccessibility in black Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Retrieved April 10, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6111528/

Gropper, S. S., Smith, J. L., & Carr, T. P. (2021). Advanced nutrition and human metabolism (Seventh ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Gupta, R., Gangoliya, S., & Singh, N. (2015, February). Reduction of phytic acid and enhancement of bioavailable micronutrients in food grains. Retrieved April 10, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pmc/articles/PMC4325021/

Authors

Rancourt Robohn