Ultimate Medical Academy Digs Up a New Job Perk: Harvesting Organic Vegetables

April 5, 2017, Tampa, Fla. – Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) helps support healthy living by letting employees dig in the dirt – courtesy of the UMA Garden Club. The club, which includes more than 15 staff members, spends time each Sunday morning at Tampa’s Sweetwater Organic Community Farm to harvest in the fields and help with the farm’s operations.

“We are so appreciative of all of the volunteers who come out and help at Sweetwater Farm,” said Sweetwater Organic Community Farm Executive Director Yvette Rouse. “Our farm relies on the help of individual and group volunteers who assist us with its day-to-day operations. Volunteers, like UMA, are not only serving their community, but they also gain the opportunity to learn and gain hands-on organic farming experience.”

As a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) partner of Sweetwater, UMA supports the farm through volunteering, farm tours and more. As an additional benefit, the UMA Garden Club receives a share of the farm’s weekly vegetable harvest each Thursday afternoon, which they may have even picked.

Members of the UMA Garden Club also attend workshops to learn about various topics that range from sustainable farming to making kimchi. The club frequents the weekly farmer’s markets, as well, which are hosted by the farm, allowing UMA to further support the local community.

“The UMA Garden Club is another way UMA helps its employees get involved in things they care about,” said Kelsey Tressler, a UMA employee and facilitator of the UMA Garden Club. “Our members are passionate about learning the intricacies of sustainable organic farming, and this is a great opportunity to help facilitate that. They actually feel the satisfaction of pulling locally grown vegetables from the earth.”

UMA’s involvement with Sweetwater Organic Community Farm is one of the many service projects and outreach initiatives the institution participates in each year. For more details about UMA’s involvement in the community, visit /about/community-outreach/.

ABOUT SWEETWATER ORGANIC COMMUNITY FARM:
Sweetwater Organic Community Farm is a nonprofit community-supported urban organic farm and environmental education center in Tampa. Established in 1995, the farm operates a Community Supported Agriculture membership program, educational field trips and volunteer opportunities, among other activities. The organization’s hands-on programs allow visitors of all ages to discover the wonders of nature, explore ecological interconnections, practice appropriate land stewardship and master sustainable agriculture techniques. The farm also provides fresh organic vegetables and herbs for hundreds of Tampa Bay residents each year.