WELLNESS:

Dr. Preston Maring, a 36-year Kaiser Permanente veteran, is the Johnny Appleseed of hospital farmers markets. An enthusiastic home cook, Maring, 62, was used to shopping for ingredients at weekend stands set up by local growers. He was also used to seeing jewelry and trinket vendors in the halls of his hospital. He reckoned, why not add a few organic greens and nectarines to the mix? Since the first weekly market opened in Oakland in May 2003, farmers markets have sprouted like chanterelles at 32 Kaiser sites in California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Georgia, and Hawaii.