FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bobby Maldonado

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System

248-858-6662

Bobby.Maldonado@stjoeshealth.org

February 22, 2018

CHELSEA, Mich. (Feb. 22, 2018) – St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea and 5 Healthy Towns will host the 2 Annual Community Supported

Agriculture (CSA) Fair on March 10, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Washington Street Education Center, located at 500 Washington Street (building 100) in Chelsea. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet and speak with local farmers, as well as sign up for summer CSA memberships, which include access to weekly boxes of in-season produce.

"CSA membership is a great way to access affordable, sustainably grown food, and helps support local farmers," says, Emily Griswold, manager of the Chelsea Farmers Market. "Engaging with vegetables that you have never seen can create excitement around food preparation and expand your nutritional intake. Putting your dollars into small-scale farms also benefits the surrounding watershed, builds soil health and creates flowers for our local pollinators."

Memberships to CSA farms are available in the communities of Grass Lake, Stockbridge, Manchester, Chelsea and Dexter, often with pickup locations at the town's farmers market. A directory containing information about all CSA farms within the 5 Healthy Towns area will be made available prior to markets opening in May.

A CSA membership is a subscription-like service to a local farm's produce, which can include vegetables, fruit, humanely raised meats, organic options, or more, depending on the farm. At the fair, potential CSA members will have the opportunity to browse tables and meet with local farmers and producers. Attendees can ask questions and learn about which CSA options are best for them, based on the food options, pickup times and locations, and price of each farm. Once signed up, CSA members will have access to weekly boxes of fresh, locally produced food.

Please e-mail all questions about this program to the Chelsea Farmers Market at coordinator@chelseafarmersmkt.org.

About St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea

St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea (SJMC) is a not-for-profit hospital established in 1970. Located in Chelsea, Michigan, SJMC is a member of Saint Joseph Mercy Health

System. SJMC is nationally recognized for both quality of care and patient satisfaction by national ranking organization Press Ganey, and is accredited by the Joint Commission. SJMC attracts more than 300 physicians in almost all disciplines, with leading edge technology.

About Saint Joseph Mercy Health System

Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS) is a health care organization serving seven counties in southeast Michigan including Livingston, Washtenaw, Wayne,

Oakland, Macomb, Jackson, and Lenawee. It includes 537-bed St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, 443-bed St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac, 304-bed St. Mary Mercy Livonia, 136-bed St. Joseph Mercy Livingston in Howell, and 133-bed St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea. Combined, the five hospitals are licensed for 1,553 beds, have five outpatient health centers, six urgent care facilities, more than 25 specialty centers; employ more than 15,300 individuals and have a medical staff of nearly 2,700 physicians. SJMHS has annual operating revenues of about $2 billion and returns about $120 million to its communities annually through charity care and community benefit programs.

SJMHS is a member of Trinity Health, a leading Catholic health care system based in Livonia, Mich. Trinity Health operates in 22 states, employs about 131,000 colleagues, has annual operating revenues of $17.6 billion and assets of about $24.6 billion. Additionally, the organization returns almost $1 billion to its communities annually in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs.

For more information on health services offered at Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, please visit www.stjoeshealth.org.

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