In 2016, Merit Medical CEO Fred Lampropoulos established the Merit Salt Lake Employee Garden with the mission of boosting employee health and morale by providing fresh, nutritious produce. Since its founding five years ago, our garden team has accomplished exactly that. Through employee engagement programs, sustainability efforts, and charitable work, the Merit Employee Garden is thriving.
With another garden season successfully completed, it’s time to reflect on how we’ve grown in 2021 — and helped our team, our community, and our environment flourish in the process.
Employee Participation
2021 saw record numbers for many of our garden programs.
50 DIVISIONS
With 190 employees representing 50 different Merit departments, our garden box program was a huge success. Employees enjoyed a record year of produce to take home to their families.
562 VISITS
Our U-Pick program, where employees can select their own basket of fresh produce in exchange for 10 minutes of volunteer gardening, drew 260 employees from 73 Merit departments, totaling 562 visits in all.
5,400 POUNDS
Merit team members who participated in U-Pick enjoyed 5,400 pounds of delicious and healthy fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs. That’s 2,400 pounds more than 2020!
Garden Fresh Goods
Our gardeners certainly have green thumbs, and our employees enjoyed the rewards.
- 13,000 plants thrived in the Merit greenhouse — 4,500 of which were purchased by Merit employees.
- 210 cut flower arrangements were purchased by employees to brighten up a room or bring joy to a loved one.
- 2,500 pounds of produce was prepared into delicious meals in our Merit Salt Lake employee cafeteria.
- 2,000 plants were grown to be used by our Salt Lake landscaping team.
Giving Back
Philanthropy and charity are part of what makes Merit great. The Employee Garden is just one avenue for giving back to our community.
Garden sales generated $15,000 for the Candy Cane Program, helping employees in need have a brighter holiday season.
640 pounds of produce was donated to low-income senior centers.
400 surplus vegetable starter plants were donated to a local Title I school, where they were planted in their community garden and distributed to families to plant at home.
2,500 pounds of surplus produce was given away to Merit employees at the community garden table.
Going Green
Merit’s commitment to sustainability includes our garden efforts, too.
- 6 tons of green waste was taken to the Trans-Jordan landfill to make compost.
- All inedible produce was donated to feed farm animals at Roots Charter School, a nonprofit alternative high school in Salt Lake City.
See Our Year in Photos
For a closer look at what our garden is up to, watch this video of pictures taken throughout the year.
None of these achievements would be possible without our dedicated Employee Garden team. Thank you! We can’t wait to see what will grow in 2022.
For more information on how Merit works to improve the lives of employees, take a look at our Employee Wellness, Health, and Safety page.