Community Corner

Bryn Mawr Hospital Hosts Weekly Farmers Market

The market is held seasonally every Thursday.

To keep with Bryn Mawr Hospital’s motto to stay “well ahead,” the cafeteria hosts a local farmers market once a week seasonally.

The farmers market is held just about every Thursday at 's cafeteria from about 6 a.m. to 2 or 3 p.m., seasonally from about the beginning of June through mid-September, said Fernando Figueroa, director of food and nutrition at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

“It started as a health and wellness initiative,” said Figueroa of the farmers market that was started by Aramark and Main Line Health.

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The market, which used to be held less frequently, is now in its third year, and the Aug. 11 farmers market featured potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, peaches and cantaloupes, among other fruits and vegetables. Since the food is local, the produce available changes from week to week.

“We’re promoting a healthy lifestyle,” Figueroa said. “The big key is that we’re always trying to educate, and hopefully we reap some of the benefits of keeping a healthy workforce.” 

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And the farmers market is not just available to hospital employees; patients, visitors and community members are also welcome, Figueroa said.

“People are appreciative to come down and buy produce at a cheaper price than at the grocery store,” Figueroa said, adding the market is more based on health than on turning a profit. “We just do it one day a week, so whatever we don’t sell we incorporate into recipes here so there’s no waste.”

There are also a number of pamphlets available at the volunteer-operated farmers market, including recipe cards, seasonal newsletters and information on healthy dieting, snacking, hydration and trans fats.

There’s a different market every day at other Main Line Health facilities: Paoli on Tuesdays, Lankenau on Wednesdays, Bryn Mawr on Thursdays and Riddle Memorial on Fridays, Figueroa said. 

Geri Gibson, who stopped by the farmers market wearing her scrubs on Thursday morning, said she tries to buy something there every week.

Gibson said she buys fruit to make sure she eats some every day, and she cooks with the vegetables, though she said the peaches are her favorite.

“I like the convenience, I love that the food is really good and fresh, and I enjoy supporting the neighborhood,” Gibson said. “It makes people more conscious of what they don’t have.”


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