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Virtua Mobile Farmers Market Celebrates ‘Week of the Young Child’ With Fun Visits at SJ Schools

More than 900 South Jersey children enjoyed healthy treats and hands-on lessons about fruits and vegetables, when the Virtua Mobile Farmers Market visited six area schools.

More than 900 South Jersey children enjoyed healthy treats and hands-on lessons about fruits and vegetables, when the Virtua Mobile Farmers Market visited six area schools.

The flavorful festivities marked The National Week of the Young Child™, held from April 16 – 20 this year. Children received nutrition education along with seasonal favorites — apples, bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes and clementines.


“Virtua’s dedication to promote healthy eating behaviors and provide nutrition education is a core pillar to support health and well-being,” explained Suzanne Ghee, Assistant Vice President of Strategic Business Growth & Community Health Engagement for Virtua.

“Our school visits are part of Virtua’s mission to support underserved communities,” she added. “By educating young children about nutrition and healthy lifestyles, we can help local families live better, healthier lives.”

At St. Joseph Child Development Center in Camden, the Virtua Mobile Farmers Market was joined by a second colorful vehicle: the Farm Explorer bus, which helps teach kids about growing plants for food. Farm Explorer is a program of Greener Partners, a Pennsylvania nonprofit.

Throughout the week, the Virtua Mobile Market also visited three other Camden schools and a child development center in Westampton.

(All photos provided):

About the Virtua Mobile Farmers Market:

The Virtua Mobile Farmers Market is a major public health initiative that is improving the health and wellbeing of thousands of Camden County and Burlington County residents. The year-round program, launched in May 2017, has already distributed more than 35,000 pounds of fresh produce to about 8,000 local families. Virtua is the only health system in the Delaware Valley and N.J. to operate a mobile farmers market. For more information, click here. The Market’s visits to children are funded by the Virtua Foundation, the fundraising arm of the nonprofit Virtua health system. To learn how you can support the Market, call the Virtua Foundation at (856) 355-0830 or click here to visit the Foundation Website.

About Virtua:

As one of New Jersey’s largest, non-profit health systems, Virtua provides comprehensive health care services to achieve its mission to help people be well, get well and stay well. Virtua provides services through Virtua Medical Group with 500 physicians and other clinicians, and at its urgent care centers, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, health and wellness centers, fitness centers, home health services, long-term care and rehabilitation centers, and paramedic program.

A leader in maternal and child health services, Virtua delivers nearly 8,000 babies a year. It provides health services to 1,500 businesses, and participates in Virtua Physician Partners, a clinically integrated network of 1,000 physicians and other clinicians. Virtua is affiliated with Penn Medicine for cancer and neuroscience and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for pediatrics. It employs over 9,000 and has been honored as the #1 Best Place to Work in the Delaware Valley many times since 2007.

It is the recipient of a 4-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for quality of care, and its hospitals earned straight A’s in patient safety by The Leapfrog Group and the 2016 Patient Safety Award from Healthgrades. U.S. News and World Report ranked Virtua’s Mount Holly and Voorhees hospitals as High Performing Hospitals and Voorhees as a Best Regional Hospital. Virtua is also the recipient of the Consumer Choice Award from the National Research Corporation. For more information, visit Virtua.org  or Virtua Broadcast Network.