Adventist Health Portland Supports Community With Weekly Produce Stand

Adventist Health Portland is connecting its neighbors with local immigrant-grown produce by hosting a weekly summer produce stand on its southeast Portland hospital campus in partnership with Outgrowing Hunger.

“Bringing a fresh produce stand to our campus has been a longtime dream,” says Terry Johnsson, mission integration executive at Adventist Health Portland. “After seeing the incredible response last year, we’re thrilled to bring it back for a second season. This initiative not only gives our community easier access to fresh, local fruits and vegetables, but also uplifts immigrant farmers.”

The produce comes from the Outgrowing Hunger’s commercial garden, which is largely farmed by local immigrants. “The food you buy is picked that morning, and every dollar spent at our stand goes directly to the farmers,” Johnsson explains.

The produce stand is just the latest work Adventist Health Portland has done to bring their neighbors access to food closer to home. The area around the hospital is considered a food desert with more limited access to affordable and nutritious foods. In 2019, it launched a community garden next to the hospital in partnership with Outgrowing Hunger. Many of the garden’s farmers are recent immigrants who depend on this resource to grow food for their families.

The community farm stand is open each Tuesday, 3 to 6 p.m., July 8 through October 28 directly outside Adventist Health Portland’s main hospital entrance at 10123 SE Market Street, Portland, Ore., 97216.