CASTLE ROCK —A Douglas County hospital has hired a resident farmer to oversee its community garden, which also helps supply its sit-down restaurant.
Those details may seem a bit strange at first glance, but for the leadership at and its in-house , bringing in an agricultural specialist is an important step forward for its 15,000-square-foot garden.
Dan Skay is the hospital’s nutrition manager and also founder and executive chef of , which has been since opening as part of the hospital’s ground floor in 2013.
“As far as I know, we’re the first free-standing restaurant operating in a hospital that is run by the hospital,” Skay said of the biblically inspired, locally sourced, American eatery.
Beginning with the 2014 growing season, Skay has also been leading a community garden known as the at the northwest corner of the hospital’s main parking lot. The garden has a large parcel for growing fruits and vegetable for Manna and also 96 raised planter boxes that are rented out to community members for $75 per season.
“We try to teach people how to take care of their planter boxes in organic fashion without pesticides or chemicals,” Skay said, adding that the garden is part of the hospital’s emphasis on , not just medicine. “It’s about reaching into the community and being proactive, not reactive. Not just taking care of people when they’re sick, but helping them lead healthier lives.”
As of this week, Skay has a new partner in bringing fresh, nutritious food to the Castle Rock community in resident farmer Brian Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald and his wife, Roxanne, previously established the community garden at the Rock church, an 8-acre project that routinely donated tons of produce to the before being washed out in heavy rains a few years ago. In his new role, Fitzgerald will work 20 hours per week tending the Manna plot and working with the hospital’s community gardeners.
Skay said Manna used a variety of items from the garden last year, including radishes and rhubarb, but he didn’t closely track crop yield. Still, he expects the hospital plot to quadruple its production under Fitzgerald, with the excess food going to the task force and the church’s regular meals for needy families.
Hospital spokeswoman Christine Alexander said Fitzgerald will serve as a consistent contact for the community gardeners, answering questions and working with them to improve their boxes.
“I think it maintains the integrity of the garden,” she said. “With Brian, it’s great because he has the relationship with the community.”
Fitzgerald was unavailable to comment for this report, but a hand-written draft of his biography for the hospital website gives some hints as to his plans. He suggests that by adding hoop houses and other infrastructure, the can stretch Colorado’s typical 4- to 4½-month growing season to eight, nine or even 10 months.
Brien Darby is vice president of the and a manager of urban food programs at the Denver Botanic Gardens. She brought a tour group of association members to the Garden of Eatin’ last year. She said the arrangement linking the garden, restaurant and hospital is very unique in Colorado, and exists in only a few places she knows of nationwide. She said she was happy to hear about a resident farmer to help keep the garden strong.
“First off, (the garden) sets the right tone for anyone receiving health care — that eating healthy and eating a diet with fruits and vegetables should be a part of any treatment, whether it’s preventative or curative,” Darby said. “And the second aspect is that local produce, and produce that is harvested very freshly, is going to have a higher nutrient content than anything you can buy at the store.”
Joe Rubino: 303-954-2953 or jrubino@denverpost.com
Garden of eatin’
To learn more or get on the list for a planter box, e-mail Christine Alexander at christine alexander@centura.org.
