NorthPointe Woods senior living in Battle Creek is bringing a new meaning to “locally grown," raising fruits and vegetables on the property.
The garden is more than just a greenhouse, with plants stretching around corners and taking up any space they can, all looked after by NorthPointe's head chef, Charles Ansorge.
Green beans, melons, squash and more are planted and cared for by Ansorge. He makes sure to keep the garden as natural as possible.
"We don't use any pesticides, that is unnatural pesticides. We do grow very spicy peppers, Carolina reapers. Obviously, we don't eat that here, but we grind them up, [add] a little bit of garlic, some baking soda and pump it right back onto the plants. It deters pests."
Another pest repellent they grow is marigold, and they use food scraps from NorthPointe's kitchen to make compost.
”It's self-contained and it’s about closing that loop. Every time we can get a different part to feed back into the system is what we really hope for.”
Ansorge said the food grown here accounts for about 5% of what residents eat.
Sarah Helm is a retired nurse who lives at NorthPointe. She has watched the greenhouse grow from her room nearby.
She said the fresh produce will have a positive impact on residents' health.
“If you give people the right kind of nutrients, it's beneficial. And sometimes they don't even realize that by eating some green peppers or some tomatoes are providing their body with the nutrition that they need.”
Marketing Director Amanda Mekara echoed this point, adding that proper nutrition can often be difficult for residents.
“That's something that a lot of folks were missing out on before they came into our building here and that's why they're here. Their families, you know, wanted them to come here. They weren't eating right and things like that. So this is very important not only just to the staff and to the residents, but also to the families of our residents.”
Though residents don’t plant or pick them, they can request certain produce, like watermelon, a favorite of resident Mike Dawson.
“They made big wedges," he said, "but by the time I got there, it was all gone. So, more watermelon would help.”
NorthPointe will host a grand opening celebration for the greenhouse Thursday at 1pm.
Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program.
