UF Health Pediatrics resident makes fresh produce affordable and accessible for patients with farmers market
Christina Baxter Vernace, D.O., and Gainesville farm The Family Garden partner to combat childhood obesity
Pictured is a variety of produce from Gainesville farm The Family Garden that was up for sale at a farmers market outside the UF Health Pediatrics – Gerold L. Schiebler CMS Center in March.
April 14, 2022 — Sheltered from the drizzle beneath a gray canopy, tables and crates piled high with farm-fresh produce drew a steady stream of curious, smiling faces outside the UF Health Pediatrics – Gerold L. Schiebler CMS Center on the afternoon of March 23. With purple, orange and yellow carrots nestled next to red radishes and tomatoes, green onions, Brussels sprouts, spinach and more, the spread formed a veritable rainbow for hungry patients and caregivers.
The event kicked off a series of monthly farmers markets to come thanks to the efforts of third-year pediatrics resident Christina Baxter Vernace, D.O., and her partners at UF Health, UF/IFAS and The Family Garden.
A South Florida native, Vernace has been working to bring an affordable farmers market to the center for the past year and a half, she said, after learning of a similar program at one of the institutions she interviewed with before choosing UF for residency. The doctor decided to bring that model to Gainesville upon seeing that although she advised patients and families to purchase fruits and vegetables to help prevent or combat childhood obesity, they did not have easy access to fresh produce.
UF/IFAS helped connect Vernace with The Family Garden farm, which is set up with the State of Florida to accept SNAP and EBT payments for produce. Using food stamps also means customers are eligible for a 50% discount with the farm, Vernace said, making the produce affordable and accessible for patients at the already familiar site of their primary care provider.
The first market in March was a huge success, Vernace said. Families and employees alike had fun and purchased the fresh, organic, in-season produce, and she and a nutritionist were able to help educate shoppers on the importance of healthy eating.
“It was really incredible to see children walking through and selecting the vegetables they wanted to cook with their mom or dad that week,” Vernace said. “Having this farmers market was a way to have a reminder on campus, at the clinic patients go to, that this is what it looks like to purchase healthy fruits and vegetables. And this is also affordable; it’s not out of your budget. It’s not something unreachable.”
Lindsay Thompson, M.D., holds carrots from Gainesville farm The Family Garden at a farmers market outside the UF Health Pediatrics – Gerold L. Schiebler CMS Center in March.
Lindsay Thompson, M.D., medical director of the pediatric research hub and professor of pediatrics and health outcomes and biomedical informatics, said she felt like a proud parent seeing Vernace’s idea and hard work come to fruition this spring.
“I really credit Baxter for her tenacity … She got this done,” Thompson said. “She’s going to go out into the world and be an amazing pediatrician, and her legacy here will be very tangible.”
While the project’s main goal is to improve children’s health, the pediatrician noted that seeing the exciting variety of produce also helped expand the palates of some of her co-workers. Thompson said she came across a vegetable she had never tried before called Romanesco, a unique-looking piece of produce that is similar to broccoli and cauliflower. So she bought some, cleaned it and began to break off small florets to eat, offering some to her colleagues at the same time.
“Just by rinsing it off and eating it, I was able to introduce it to a lot of the staff here, some of whom were clearly very hesitant to try this new vegetable,” she said. “Everyone loved it, and people were coming back for more little pieces.”
The farmers market will be held the third Wednesday of every month, except for the summer growing season, at the same time and location, Vernace said. The next one will take place April 20, from 2-5:15 p.m. at the UF Health Pediatrics – Gerold L. Schiebler CMS Center. Volunteers are wanted immediately before and after the market to help load and unload the farm’s vehicle; contact Vernace at baxterchristina@ufl.edu for more information. Medical and nutrition students interested in volunteering can sign up here.
