Photo caption: Michelle Stranges, Specialist in Quality, Transformation, and Innovation at St. Joseph’s (left), with Deana D’Ambrosio, Manager of Food and Nutrition Services, in the on-site garden at Parkwood Institute.
By: Allison Hansen, Communication Consultant, St. Joseph’s Health Care London
For Michelle Stranges, food is not just about nutrition – it’s a catalyst for care, connection and well-being. This philosophy recently earned her the 2025 Nourish Anchor Leadership Award, a national honour recognizing leaders who use food to advance healing, culture and community.
Michelle is a Quality, Transformation and Innovation Specialist and the Nourish Project Lead at St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s). She is dedicated to developing programs that integrate food into patient and resident care, community partnerships and sustainability initiatives -working closely with the Food and Nutrition Services team.
“I’m grateful for the Nourish Anchor Leadership Award, which celebrates the collective work at St. Joseph’s,” adds Stranges. “By shaping food and nutrition for both human and planetary health in a health care setting, our goal is to leverage the power of food to move us toward a healthier, better future.”
The Medicine Garden
A cornerstone of Michelle’s work is the on-site medicine garden at St. Joseph’s Parkwood Institute. Known by its Indigenous name, Onuhkwa:t Tsi’tKahɅtayɅ’, meaning “At the Medicine Garden,” the 3,128-square-foot garden grows a variety of vegetables and herbs. The harvest has grown over the years and provides fresh produce for more than 700 patient and resident meals.
Maintained with Urban Roots London, which transforms underused land into community food programs, the garden also grows traditional Indigenous plants such as sage, used in ceremonies and St. Joseph’s Biigajiiskaan: Indigenous Pathways to Mental Wellness Program.
An unexpected outcome of the Nourish Project is the garden’s positive impact on mental health patients, who can visit and participate in gardening activities through collaboration with St. Joseph’s therapeutic recreation team.
“Through a partnership with the therapeutic recreation team, mental health inpatients gain meaningful activities, social connections and a sense of purpose," says Stranges.
Food as Medicine
The Medicine Garden is part of the Nourish Project, a multi-year program that follows the ideas “food first” and “food is medicine.” St. Joseph’s is one of a few teams in Canada selected for the Nourish Anchor Cohort, a program for organizations that have a big impact on their communities. The team is testing new approaches to food in health care, including menu redesign, local sourcing, reducing waste, growing food on-site, and piloting a food prescription program.
Michelle also led the 12-week Food Prescription Pilot with St. Joseph’s Assertive Community Treatment team, which supports people with complex mental health needs. The program delivered over 720 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables to 15 outpatients experiencing food insecurity, with produce supplied by Odd Bunch, a local group that rescues surplus food, supporting both health and dignity.
“Having healthy food available helps patients succeed in treatment and supports recovery,” says Stranges.
Reflecting on her award, Michelle notes that while recognition is meaningful, the true impact comes from the work itself.
“Providing fruits and vegetables supports recovery and treatment goals while removing cost and transportation barriers that can limit access to healthy foods,” she explains. “It’s been rewarding to work on a project that truly nourishes the body, mind, and spirit of individuals - and the community.”