Hospital-based farming is an innovative approach that integrates agricultural practices within healthcare settings to improve patient outcomes. Hospitals can enhance patient recovery, reduce food insecurity, and promote overall well-being by providing fresh, nutritious food directly from on-site farms. 

This blog, supported by recent research, explores the benefits of hospital-based farming and offers practical insights for hospitals and healthcare systems looking to implement such initiatives.

The first birthday of Haverhill YMCA’s Freight Farm brought out staff, city officials and its primary sponsor for a birthday cake and, of course, salad made with the farm’s own lettuce.

Celebrating Wednesday at the Gateway Academy on Primrose Street, where the first YMCA Freight Farm in the country is located, were Mayor Melinda E. Barrett, YMCA Regional Executive Director Tracy Fuller, city councilors, community leaders and Glenn D. Focht, president of Anna Jaques Hospital, which sponsored the farm.

In this insightful webinar, learn how Morgan Hill Unified School District (MHUSD) is revolutionizing its agriculture program by integrating two Freight Farms into its curriculum.

Led by Freight Farms' Event Manager and MHUSD's Director of Student Nutrition & Records Retention, along with their Lead Farmer, discover how these vertical hydroponic farms are enhancing hands-on learning, providing fresh, year-round produce, and teaching students practical skills that connect them to food, sustainability, and the future of farming.

Production facilities for the course include a Freight Farm, a 350-square-foot shipping container that will serve as a controlled environment greenhouse. When the Freight Farm is installed, it will be capable of growing the same amount of leafy greens as 1.5 to 2 acres, Kopsell said. Plans are to sell the produce to Campus Dining. 

“It’s amazing that you can have all that production right here,” he said.

A research project centers around understanding energy consumption of indoor farming
Each week, a shipping container farm in Citra sends lettuce to the University of Florida in Gainesville
This produce helps stock the on-campus food pantry, which is open to the entire UF community, from students to teachers
Pantry coordinator Lori Benson says, “It’s healthy. Produce is probably what students want the most”

“You don’t have to be missing food or struggling to come here. This is an opportunity for everyone, and it shows stuff like this is important for a community,” she said.

So, our purpose is to create a decentralized food system, meaning a greener food system, healthier communities, and healthier cities. So that's the overarching vision - creating a healthier relationship between food and people. And we're doing it by creating vertical farms, and our first one is in Lisbon