Growing Trends

By Matt Windsor

Without leaving campus, UAB students, faculty, and staff—and their children—now have three options to savor farm-fresh produce.

Employees, patients, and visitors at UAB Hospital can select fresh produce each week with visits from A New Leaf Farm Stand and other local suppliers (above and below left). The popular program, organized by UAB Wellness, also allows employees to order online for pickup at several campus locations.





When Julie Price, UAB’s coordinator of sustainability (above right), announced plans to open a garden on university-owned land in April 2013, she was flooded with e-mails from interested participants. UAB Gardens opened last summer with 65 plots—each about 100 square feet—which were quickly planted in tomatoes, squash, peppers, and more. UAB’s facilities department supplies water hoses and tools; participants provide the seeds and labor.





UAB’s Child Development Center (above left and right) now receives weekly deliveries of peaches, corn, and other seasonal fresh vegetables and fruits from A New Leaf Farm Stand. In addition to the health benefits, UAB gets to support a local business and help the environment by cutting down on long-distance deliveries, says center director Randy East.