Important points
According to Dr. Katie Fruin, the Veterans Farm at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center is the largest farm in the U.S. health care system. Veterans Affairs staff and volunteers, including UCLA health staff, veterans, and students, are contributing to the garden’s revitalization by growing fresh vegetables, fruit, and flowers. VA and UCLA Health want to work together to promote a national model of health system-supported agriculture.
For as long as Cintrea Cotton can remember, doctors have told the New York native and U.S. Air Force veteran that she was likely to develop high blood pressure. They warned that because of her long family history of hypertension, she would likely have to manage it for the rest of her life.
“But today, that’s gone,” Cotton said. “Since I started eating raw foods and less processed foods, I no longer have high blood pressure. I’m 48 years old now, and I’ve never been healthier.”
Cotton credits a healthy, nutritious, organic-rich diet for the dramatic improvement in her health. The inspiration for this lifestyle change began with a small seed planted in the Veterans Garden at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center near the university.
“Veterans farms are the largest farms integrated into the health care system in this country,” said Dr. Katie Fruin, a preventive medicine researcher in the UCLA Department of Clinical Nutrition. “This garden allows us to grow crops for 1,200 veterans. However, when garden directors retire, their positions will not be filled and the resources of this wonderful campus will not be fully utilized. It remains.”
And in 2021, Jennifer Allen, a nurse and whole health program manager at the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, began an effort to restore the once-thriving 15-acre garden.
Led by Allen, Virginia staff and volunteers, including UCLA health staff, veterans and students, are working to restore resources to this campus. Most of their work in the garden involves growing fresh vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Many of the volunteers noted that the project had an impact on them both mentally and physically.
With support from UCLA’s Department of Clinical Nutrition, Fruin launched a fundraising campaign to hire a full-time gardener, purchase additional supplies to cultivate the garden, and help reduce food insecurity and post-traumatic stress. We are creating a safe space for veterans suffering from stress disorders. A sense of community and safety.
“Many of the veterans I met through this project told me that agricultural therapy had saved their lives and their families, and it had a profound impact on me,” Fruin said. “I think our medical model often overlooks the fact that life-saving interventions can extend beyond hospital visits and medications.
“For so many veterans, spending time in the garden after service and the trauma they endured was the most important part of their healing,” she says. “As a clinician and an American, it is my driving force to work to make this a reality for veterans here in West Los Angeles and across the country.”
Inspired by the positive impact this garden has had on veteran volunteers, the Veterans Administration Office of General Health aims to establish agricultural therapy programs and career training for those interested in agriculture. VA and UCLA Health want to work together to promote a national model of health system-supported agriculture.
food as medicine
Another driver has to do with preventive medicine, in this case food as medicine. The goal is more inspiring stories that show how what we put into our bodies, like cotton, can change our lives.
“Preventing diet-related illnesses is critical, especially for veterans, who experience higher rates of food insecurity and preventable conditions,” Fruin said. He said a quarter of veterans face food insecurity (double the rate for civilians), 87% have high blood pressure, 78% are overweight or obese, and 1 in 4 have diabetes. Approximately half of veterans who are ill and experience food insecurity report suicidal thoughts.
“Every health system has a pharmacy, but very few have a ‘food farm clinic’ even though food is the most important medicine,” Fruin said. “The garden provides fresh produce, fosters connections to how food is grown, and increases understanding and ownership of one’s health.”
Early bird benefits
The garden is still in its early stages of cultivation, but it’s already helping veterans like Cotton, who have battled PTSD for years after their service. Not only did the garden help her change her eating habits, she said, but it also helped her develop a centered awareness, allowing her to be more present in the moment and more effectively managing symptoms related to PTSD. I will tell you.
“For someone who suffers from PTSD, it can feel isolating. But when you come here, you know you’re not alone,” Cotton said. “Other veterans are going through the same thing. Even though we all have different walks of life, being here gives us a common goal.”
Finding a sense of community, hope, and healing is at the heart of the Veterans Garden, and its momentum is only beginning to grow through the efforts of volunteers.
“As a female veteran who has had a lot of anxiety, being able to come here and let my guard down and find that reassurance was invaluable,” Cotton said. “It’s also a completely different experience to be with other veterans in an environment outside of the hospital. It’s hard to connect in the hospital because everyone is in pain and can’t talk. But when you come here, the people You can get to know them, open up and feel comfortable.”
