A Partnership with Rodale Institute Brings Older Adults the Healthiest Food, Fresh Knowledge, and Opportunities to Get Involved.
On a humid, early-summer morning, the Cornwall Manor–Rodale Institute Trailside Organic Farm is bustling yet quiet. The farmers are in the 2-acre field of certified organic vegetables to pick the morning’s harvest, which on this day includes bushels of bright-green zucchini and bunches of fragrant lavender stems. They bring the crops into the packhouse, a cool, well-lit room with commercial counters and sinks. Two residents of Cornwall Manor, the vibrant senior-living community in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, eagerly help with preparing the produce for use in the dining rooms on campus and for sale at the weekly farmers’ market.
Nancy Imphong works steadily through a stack of zucchini, cleaning each one thoroughly. “I love seeing all the healthy food,” she says. “I’m a vegetarian, and it’s great that we have access to the fresh produce.” Debby Tanico trims and bundles lavender into little bouquets, inhaling their fragrance as she sets them in the bin. “We lived in New York City for 40 years, and we moved back to Pennsylvania [where she grew up] for more of the farm life,” she says. “I always enjoy being here at the farm and seeing the crops growing. And I get to work with my favorite herb!”
This farm is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between a retirement community and Rodale Institute. Launched in 2021, the partnership is already bringing many benefits to the residents of Cornwall Manor, and it is designed as a model for adult-living facilities across the country.
FIRST STEPS
This corner of South Central Pennsylvania, not far from the traditional farming communities of Lancaster County, had been home to an iron blast furnace that operated from the mid-1700s to the late 1800s, including supplying materials for the Continental Army during the War of Independence. Cornwall Iron Furnace, which now operates as a museum, is reputed to be the only surviving intact charcoal-fueled cold-blast furnace in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1949, local clergy and laypersons purchased the 85-acre family estate of the Colemans, the furnace owners, and with the addition of other living quarters, it became Cornwall Manor. Today, approximately 550 older adults reside in apartments and small houses around the now-190-acre property, with assisted-living and skilled-nursing care available when it’s needed. Buckingham Mansion, the Colemans’ family home for generations, still stands, and it has been divided into seven residential apartments.
The partnership with Rodale Institute began with the initiative of Vicki Deitzler, Cornwall Manor’s vice president for advancement. “I knew about the St. Luke’s–Rodale Institute Organic Farm,” the joint effort to bring organic food to the patients and staff of a Pennsylvania hospital network, Deitzler explains. “I went to our leadership team and our board of trustees, told them about the St. Luke’s farm, and explained that we should be feeding our residents the best possible food too. They immediately agreed.”
The project was announced in March 2021, and representatives of both teams soon identified a 2.5-acre lot on land adjacent to the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail, which was built atop the tracks that long ago connected iron from the furnace to markets. The farm is on Cornwall Manor’s Woods campus, where seniors live in single and duplex homes while still enjoying the amenities Cornwall Manor offers all its residents.
“We began with soil improvement and site work that first summer,” says Ian Frederick, who had been working at Rodale Institute’s main campus before being named farm manager at Cornwall Manor. In 2022, the first crops, including flowers to attract pollinators, were planted on a portion of the plot, and a hoop house was erected to extend the growing seasons in spring and fall. The following year, the whole field went into production, and the farm was certified organic. The usual three-year transition process was shortened because fresh soil from a nearby stream reclamation project was layered on top of the existing ground, Frederick reports. Affidavits attested that no pesticides or other prohibited substances had been used on the soil. The two-story barn where the packhouse is located was completed in 2023 as well.
“With the people we have, we can produce a lot of food and flowers and handle challenges like weeds and irrigation.” —Katie Landis
On the early-summer day in 2024, long rows of crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, onions, kale and other greens, and sweet potatoes, are lush and full of ripening food. Along the fence line, assorted flowers like zinnias and cosmos add vibrant color to the scene. “The scale of this farm is just right, especially for organic practices,” says Katie Landis, assistant farm manager. “With the people we have, we can produce a lot of food and flowers and handle challenges like weeds and irrigation.”
VALUED VOLUNTEERS
The two farmers, along with a seasonal helper, handle the hard field labor, but residents are invited to help out in a variety of ways, as Imphong and Tanico do. About 20 of them volunteer regularly, doing a wide range of tasks. “The first season we helped to plant garlic,” says John Boudman, who moved into Cornwall Manor with his wife, Linda, from their home in Hershey, Pennsylvania, more than five years ago. “We were down on our knees planting, and I said to her, ‘How is anything going to grow in this rocky, hard soil?’ But what the farmers have done here is incredible. It’s unbelievable what that soil is producing now.”
The Boudmans tend several beds of their own in the communal garden, which they proudly show off to a couple of visitors. In June, they have robust crops of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and summer squash. “The peas are done and ready to come out,” Linda says. “We’ve learned a lot about food growing from Ian and Katie. They are so generous with their knowledge.”
Jim and Patti Gerhart, who came to Cornwall Manor from northern Virginia in 2021, have been finding out more about food production. “All we knew about organic food was that it was more expensive in the grocery store. We didn’t know why,” Jim says. “When Ian asked for volunteers, we got involved. We go two or three times a month. That’s when we began learning about organic practices and how they make a difference.” Jim breaks into a wide grin as he describes the day he got to ride on the seat behind the tractor and plant corn plugs.
“We learn something new every time we visit the farm.”—Patti Gerhart
The pair are also bringing back newly gained knowledge to their thriving communal garden beds. Patti describes a tip that they picked up from the Trailside organic farmers: a method of trellising tomatoes using twine and clips. “We learn something new every time we visit the farm,” she says. “I’m very interested in growing flowers, so we’re paying a lot of attention to that now.”
Each year, a busload of residents travel to the Rodale Institute main campus, where they see in person what a large-scale organic operation looks like. Experiences like these are a valued benefit for this population. “Our residents tell us they love to keep learning, to keep doing new things,” Deitzler says. “The farm presents unique engagement opportunities.” The barn has been hosting workshops on a variety of topics, including gardening, cooking, and arts and crafts. “The workshops coincide with what we’re doing in the field,” Frederick says. “In May, we did a seed-potato-cutting workshop that was good for any level of ability. The residents like that they are helping the farm, even though they’re not out in the field.”
HEALTH BENEFITS
The farm’s harvest has become an important resource for the dining services team at Cornwall Manor. In 2023, the farmers harvested 9,150 pounds of fresh produce, and 60 percent of that yield was provided to the on-site kitchens. “Studies have shown that organic foods and healthy eating habits benefit the senior-living population not only to prevent disease but also to improve overall wellness and longevity,” says Gary Toscano, dining services general manager. Access to fresh food allows residents “to savor the purest flavors and embrace a life of well-being, nourishing their bodies and spirits. We are already seeing the positive impact of having hyperlocal produce from Trailside Farm available in our campus dining areas and look forward to expanding produce selections and educational sessions,” he adds.
About 20 percent of the harvest has been made available to residents and staff at the on-site farmers’ market held every Friday during the growing season. “We fill in gaps from our garden with food from the farmers’ market,” says Linda Boudman. “We like to volunteer to work it so we can talk to everyone about it, and we get a preview of what’s looking good that week.”
The flower bouquets have been an instant hit at the market, with more than 450 distributed in 2023. Any remaining food is shared with Lebanon’s Chestnut Street Community Center, which gets it to people in the area who are facing food insecurity.
In May 2024, the seeds of the partnership between Rodale Institute and Cornwall Manor were sown beyond the Lebanon campus through a presentation at the annual conference of LeadingAge PA, which represents more than 400 organizations that provide services to older adults in Pennsylvania. “We had an interested audience asking many questions about what we are doing and how it’s working,” Deitzler says. She was also invited—along with Harry McConnell, Cornwall Manor president; Jeff Tkach, Rodale Institute CEO; and farm manager Frederick—to present the story of the partnership at the LeadingAge national convention, which was held in October 2024. “We know not every community has access to land for their own farm,” Deitzler says, “but many are located near organic farms. We think it can work to form relationships for fresh food and engagement experiences that benefit both seniors and farmers. We see this project as a model that others can adapt to their circumstances.”
At Cornwall Manor, plans to expand the opportunities for involvement are in the works. The barn will host cooking classes, gardening demonstrations, and square dances. A group of quilters is designing a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch pattern that will be transformed into a tile that will be hung on an outside wall.
“People who like to garden, to get their hands dirty—we’re all kindred spirits,” Jim Gerhart says. “The farm gives us a chance to get together and share time with each other, including the farmers.” His wife, Patti, adds, “We never expected to be helping out on a farm when we moved in. Now we get really excited to go there.”
To learn more about the Cornwall Manor–Rodale Institute Trailside Organic Farm and how you can support the effort to bring healthy food to more people, visit RodaleInstitute.org/TrailsideOrganicFarm.