FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rod Gardner
Publication Specialist
501.622.4513 office 501.622.2077 fax
Today’s Date: June 17, 2009
St. Joseph’s Mercy, Historic Downtown Farmer’s Market of Hot Springs team up to increase consumption of healthy produce among co-workers
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – St. Joseph’s Mercy Health System has long touted the benefits of healthy living to its nearly 2,000 co-workers in the Hot Springs area.
It wasn’t, however, until the Historic Downtown Farmer’s Market of Hot Springs recently opened for the 2009 season that a small leadership team at St. Joseph’s Mercy got the seed of an idea to team up with the organization.
“We decided to put our money where our mouth is – literally,” said St. Joseph’s Mercy Vice President Christi Whatley, who headed up the internal task force to explore a partnership with the Hot Springs Farmer’s Market. “We wanted to provide a tangible incentive to our co-workers to help our community farmers, while at the same time making healthy food choices more accessible to them.”
The program, initiated June 2, is available to all St. Joseph’s Mercy co-workers and their families. Here’s how it works:
St. Joseph’s co-workers are given a Historic Downtown Farmer’s Market punch card to use when shopping for produce at the market. The card is punched by farmers (on the designated hole-punch areas) for each produce purchase that is made by a co-worker. (All craft purchases are excluded from this program).
Once the five-hole punch cards are completed, co-workers submit them to St. Joseph’s administration for the redemption of $5 in Mercy Bucks, which are redeemable only at the Historic Downtown Farmer’s Market for additional produce purchases.
The farmers – along with their vendor information of name, address and contact number – then submit the Mercy Bucks back to St. Joseph’s for payment. Payments are mailed directly to the farmer/vendor.
Redeemed punch cards from this Historic Downtown Farmer’s Market season will also be entered into a drawing for a family YMCA membership, a more than $500 value. (Other prizes may also be added at a later date).
St. Joseph’s is promoting the new program to co-workers through posters, flyers, e-mail “blasts” and two separate booth promotions.
“This is truly a win-win program for all participants,” said Bea Arline, the Recreation Superintendent for the City of Hot Springs Parks and Recreation Department. “The program St. Joseph’s Mercy has launched helps drive awareness to our participating farmers and gives them access to one of the largest customer bases in Hot Springs. We are truly appreciative.”
The program is not simply a subsidized benefit for the famer vendors of the Historic Downtown Farmer’s Market, according to Debra Erwin, Clinical Nutrition Services Manager for St. Joseph’s Mercy. “Research has proven time and again how important a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is in preventing many diseases,” said Erwin. “This program helps our co-workers, regardless of income, get access to fresh produce grown locally.”
For additional information about the team effort between St. Joseph’s Mercy and the Historic Downtown Farmer’s Market, please contact the following individuals:
Debra Erwin, St. Joseph’s Mercy Clinical Nutrition Services Manager
St. Joseph’s Mercy
501-622-1986
debra.erwin@mercy.net
Christi Whatley, St. Joseph’s Mercy Vice President
St. Joseph’s Mercy
501-622-2345
christi.whatley@mercy.net
Bea Arline, City of Hot Springs Parks and Recreations Department
Recreation Superintendent
501-321-6871
barline@cityhs.net
A member of the Sisters of Mercy Health System, St. Joseph’s is a not-for-profit Catholic healthcare organization and three-time recipient of the large-company Gold Award at the Arkansas Governor’s Work-Life Balance Awards ceremony in the spring of 2006, 2007 and 2008. For more information on the Governor’s Work-Life Balance Awards, as well as services and employment opportunities offered by St. Joseph’s, please visit www.saintjosephs.com.
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