CHI Health recently planted five raised garden beds with nonprofit City Sprouts at the Creighton University Medical Center campus, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Officials intend the $326,000 project to provide produce to CHI Health patients. Nutritionists, physical therapists and behavioral health specialists can also use the garden to teach lessons on healthy eating and stress management.

The health system hopes to expand the garden to get neighbors involved, said Audrey Matthews, CHI Health’s healthier communities coordinator. CHI Health plans to hire a community health worker to identify families facing food insecurity, which refers to those who may not always know when or where they’ll get their next meal from, she said. The worker will make home visits, educate families about urban agriculture and help them plant gardens in their backyards.

Organizers will begin identifying families in South Omaha this fall, according to Matthews.

The health system is also working with local nonprofits, including City Sprouts and the Latino Center of the Midlands, to connect South Omaha residents to more fresh produce, Matthews said.

City Sprouts offers gardening classes in Spanish, said Roxanne Draper, the nonprofit’s executive director.

The Latino Center has a demonstration garden to show residents how to plant raised beds on their own.

Matthews said, “The more opportunities we can provide for the community to come to the property and be engaged, the better.”