A New Flavor

A New Flavor

Healthier, better tasting hospital foods

As the sun rises over the Blue Hill Peninsula on a sunny morning in late July, the drops of dew begin to sparkle on the ripening blueberries that dot the acres of fields at Dan-A-Dew farms. Danner Curtis is dressed in jeans and a button up short sleeve blue checkered shirt. His salt and pepper hair escapes out the front and sides of his baseball cap, and his skin is tanned from working in the sun.

“We are very proud of what we put in our boxes and put our name on,” Danner said as he held up a pint of ripened blueberries. “Either my wife, myself, or a member of the family is always the person at the end of the belt and always the last person seeing the blueberries go out the door,” Danner explains. He and his wife, Dewey, run a fresh pack blueberry growing operation. They rake 24 acres of fields in Blue Hill using a mechanical harvester. It’s a piece of equipment that you walk behind like a lawnmower. It has tines on a spinning cylinder that scoops up blueberries off the plant and drops them into a bin.

"Supporting the grow local movement is a personal mission that I have; it’s something that I brought with me when I became an employee here."

Barb Haskell, Food Service Director, Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital



Danner has a few local boys he hires to help him harvest the fruit and a group of migrant workers that help sort and pack it. The sorting and packing take place inside a climate-controlled barn. Workers feed the berries onto the stainless-steel packing machine which moves them along a conveyor belt and drops them through a series of filters to remove any stems or debris. The workers then package the berries for the fresh market or freeze them for later sale.

"Blue Hill is a shining example of what we should be doing. Barb has worked hard to source local products, which is not always easy for every site or hospital to do, but Blue Hill is successful."

Nicole King, Food and Nutrition Coordinator, Northern Light Health

Meanwhile, less than five miles away from the farm at Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital, which sits at the mouth of Blue Hill Bay, lead cook Dede Sylvester is slicing up blueberry pies she made from Dan-A-Dew farm blueberries. The kitchen is bustling as the staff gets ready for the lunchtime crowd. Baked salmon and blueberry pie top the menu. “The difference between really fresh local produce and the stuff you get at the grocery store or from a big food supplier is miles apart, and you don’t really even need to do that much to it to make it taste good,” Dede explains.

Danner personally delivers two ten-pound boxes of blueberries to Dede and her staff every month. He is just one of the local growers that she gets produce from. Dede’s supervisor, food service director Barb Haskell, is the one leading the charge on the grow local movement. “It’s a personal mission that I have; it’s something that I brought with me when I became an employee here,” explained Barb.

In addition to managing Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital’s food service program, Barb is also an ambassador of Health Care Without Harm, a non-profit organization that seeks to get healthcare organizations to reduce their environmental footprint. She has attended conferences and learned about ways to make small changes that over time can have a meaningful effect. First, she found some area farmers that she could buy local produce from. Those farms include Dan-A-Dew farm for blueberries and Young Farm for other produce. Barb also removed all polystyrene containers and replaced them with biodegradable alternatives. Instead of using disposable plastic utensils in the cafeteria, they use reusable silverware. They also purchase hormone free frozen chicken breasts. It’s more expensive so they serve less of it.

Danner Curtis holds a box of fresh blueberries from Dan-a Dew farms.

Barb is taking what she’s learned through Health Care Without Harm and sharing that with other food service directors throughout Northern Light Health. She is working with Nicole King, food and nutrition coordinator for Northern Light Health’s Community Health and Grants department to spread that message. “Blue Hill is a shining example of what we should be doing. Barb has worked hard to source local products, which is not always easy for every site or hospital to do, but we hope Barb can share her experience with other sites and encourage them to become more involved sourcing local products,” Nicole says.

Nicole’s goal is to increase the purchasing of locally grown foods and antibiotic free proteins systemwide. She is hosting workshops and organizing farm tours to help make the process a little less daunting for food service directors, not just within Northern Light Health but across the state. “These efforts show a commitment to our local economy and our local communities that we are advocating for their health and that we care about them always. It’s better for our patients, our staff, and our community members.”

Meanwhile, back at Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital, the cafeteria is busy on a Friday afternoon in July. Two boys are each digging into a big piece of blueberry pie topped with a heaping mound of whipped cream. Their faces are stained with blueberries, and they’re laughing. They may not know where the blueberries came from in their slices of pie, but Dede, Barb, and Danner know, which fills them all with satisfaction.

Two boys enjoying Maine blueberry pie at Northern Light Blue Hill Hospital on a late July day at the start of the blueberry harvest.