MCH Patient Gardens

At A Glance

Location: 

Bristol, Vermont

Primary Issue Area:

  • Food

Active since:

2017

Our Purpose

Mountain Community Health (MCH) serves a diverse patient population, providing comprehensive primary care, dental, and integrated behavioral health services including mental health services,  nutrition, and substance use treatment services to individuals of all ages, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), MCH offers a sliding fee discount program for eligible patients, ensuring access to care for underserved and vulnerable populations. The patient demographic includes a significant number of individuals enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare, as well as those without health insurance.Since 2017, we have grown produce and empowered patients via a small raised-bed community garden on our property. We use the garden intermittently as a way to further nutrition education and lifestyle medicine principles by encouraging patients to connect with local foods, growing and preparing their own fresh food, and using nutrient-dense foods as an extension of their health care plan. By securing funding for seed purchases, Mountain Community Health seeks to strengthen our living, therapeutic resource. This garden will serve not only as a source of fresh produce for the food insecure patients, but as a platform for hands-on nutrition education to coplement the principles patients are education on in clinic.