Deaver Wellness Farm occupies a unique spot among Montgomery County agribusinesses: It’s located in Wynnewood (not known for sprawling fields), and its most important crops may be enlightenment and altruism. Becca Henderson dug up this story at 6abc.

The farm operates in conjunction with Main Line Health Lankenau Medical Center.

An onsite collaboration between a health care system and an agribusiness is rare; only a few hospitals nationwide have their own farms. Deaver occupies a former parking lot that was removed, tilled, and planted in 2016.

“Since then, we have raised, I believe, close to 58,000 pounds of food,” said Maureen Krouse, who manages the hospital’s community health outreach.

Crop yields answer food insecurity needs of discharged patients. “We are saving lives,” said Krouse. “Food is medicine. Food impacts every chronic disease that there is.”

But the program is also educational for nearby school children who visit.

“When they notice something new that they haven’t seen before like ‘Oh, that’s how celery grows!’ Or ‘This what squash looks like?’ I love those kind of questions,” said the onsite farmer.

More on Deaver Wellness Farm is at 6abc.