VA maple trees: Syrup for Veterans food pantry

Northern Indiana VA’s historic Marion VA Medical Center sits on 105 acres and is one of the longest Veteran-serving campuses in the country. The land has more than 50 maple trees, which have intrigued the Nutrition and Food Service staff to harvest their own maple syrup. The idea originated with gardeners Nicholas Jones and Aaron Robinson.

“Aaron and I used to have discussions about how to make VA more sustainable, and one of the main topics we came up with was tapping the maple trees to make maple syrup,” said Jones.

With the support of the Green Environmental Management System program, they commenced the project through sustainability funding and a generous donation from Charles Purcell with American Legion. That donation allowed the team to buy a 275-gallon holding tank and a 35-gallon collection tank.

“There is a short 3- to 6-week window of maple syrup collection. It must be freezing at night but above freezing and sunny during the day. It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup,” said Lindsay Bartrom, Nutrition and Food Service chief.

Once the trees were tapped, they immediately started producing sap. A 3-gallon bag is attached to the tree and the sap is then collected.

Many staff members volunteered

The sap is then boiled down to pre-syrup, which takes several hours. At the later phases, a hydrometer must be used to ensure the proper sugar concentration.

The pre-syrup is stored until the team has reached 30 gallons, and then it is cooked in a steam kettle. After 12 hours of cooking, it is filtered multiple times and hot sealed in 1-gallon jugs to prevent spoilage.

“So many of our staff members have voluntarily assisted in this process and making it a great success,” Jones added.

Rex Cunningham, a Veteran residing in the Marion Community Living Center, joined Jones for a sap collection and taste tested the final product.

“It was great. It’s amazing we are using trees on our property. It took so much effort to get approval, and Mr. Jones deserves all the credit. He puts so much time in and comes in on the weekends because the bags fill up fast,” Cunningham said.

Additional syrup for food pantry and patient meals

The medical center’s goal in future years is to produce enough pure maple syrup to replace what is being purchased from vendors. Any additional maple syrup produced will be donated to the Veterans food pantry or incorporated into inpatient meals.

The hospital served homemade waffles and maple syrup as a special breakfast meal to debut the new syrup for inpatients and  received great feedback from Veterans and staff.

For 2023, the team has collected approximately 825 gallons of sap and has produced 17 gallons of maple syrup. For Northern Indiana VA Veterans, the project has been a sweet success.

Originally constructed as the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Marion VA has been improving Veteran health since 1889.