Greener Partners
Title: Greener Partners: Urban Farming and Education in Greater Philadelphia
Student Interns:
Olivia Chagnon
Drexel University College of Medicine
Academic Preceptor:
Jeremiah Goldstein, MD
St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children
Community Preceptor:
Jessica Chou
Greener Partners
Community Site:
Greener Partners is a West Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization that aims to educate the community about plants, nutrition, and urban farming. Greener Partners uses on-site gardens at local schools to teach students about where their food comes from and what various plants can be used for. The organization has also established a mobile farm program that broadens its educational reach to more locations and events. Greener Partners is also heavily involved in expanding access to fresh foods in the local community. One highlight of this initiative is the development of Deaver Wellness Farm at Lankenau Medical Center, where produce is grown and distributed to the hospital’s patients.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps student intern assisted with weekly programming at local summer camps, helping to facilitate garden- and classroom-based activities and recipe making. The intern also contributed to the maintenance of the Greener Partners gardens through weeding, harvesting, and assisting with the construction of a rain collection system. The intern additionally had the opportunity to create supplemental materials for the organization, including short videos to accompany produce distributions at Deaver Wellness Farm and a monthly newsletter that highlighted Greener Partners’ recent work, provided nutrition tips to readers, and shared recipe ideas. The intern also assisted with food distributions for local community members.
Reflections
“My experience with Greener Partners this summer was immensely rewarding. I was lucky enough to volunteer with the organization throughout my first year at Drexel, and my positive experience made my decision to continue working for them this summer an easy one. In my time with Greener Partners I have learned so much about the work being done to make fresh foods more accessible to the local community in West Philadelphia and am also now more aware of the barriers that exist in getting produce into the hands of those experiencing food insecurity. I am inspired by the work that locations like Deaver Wellness Farm at Lankenau Medical Center are doing to improve food access for patients with the recognition that food is medicine. During my future career as a physician, I plan to be cognizant of local food access resources in my area so that I can share this information with my own patients. I also loved having the opportunity to step outside the classroom and learn more about garden maintenance and the growing process. The passion that the GP farmers and educators have for their work is contagious, and everyone I worked with was eager to share their knowledge and expertise. It was a summer that I am incredibly grateful for and will not soon forget.”
Olivia Chagnon