Have you stopped by the Uptown Farmers Market this season and picked up a tote bag at the Chicago Market table? If you have, you can thank one of our sponsors - Swedish Hospital! We've been working with Amanda Kritt, their Food Connections Coordinator, to find out a little bit more about a couple programs through Swedish Hospital and how they contribute to Uptown and Chicago.

Food Connections Program
The goal of the Food Connections program at Swedish Hospital is to remove food access as a barrier to health for their patients, staff and the community. Food insecurity can lead to a higher risk for diet-related diseases, higher levels of stress, which can result in an increased risk of chronic disease, difficulty managing chronic diseases, and the need to make difficult trade-offs such as buying food or medicine. Swedish Hospital is working to break the cycle of food insecurity and chronic disease through screening patients for food insecurity, providing referrals to existing community organizations, and creating sustainable programs that connect health to food access. In order to accomplish this mission, it is essential to connect directly to their community and the local food system at events such as the Uptown Farmers Market.

Veggies for Health
Veggies for Health is a free 8-week nutrition class offered through the Food Connections program at Swedish Hospital. Each week participants receive a bag of vegetables from 40 Acres Fresh Market, nutritional education, recipes and more! To register, contact Amanda Kritt at [email protected] or call 773-878-8200 x 5223.

Special thanks again to Amanda Kritt from Swedish Hospital for helping us coordinate details for this post. Amanda just bought a condo in Buena Park to solidify her presence in Uptown for years to come. She was drawn to Uptown by the same things that many of us are — its diversity and historical significance as a part of Chicago. Stop by to meet Amanda at the Uptown Farmers Market on June 29th!