Plant a Row for the Hungry
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Apparently there is a national campaign for folks to plant extra garden rows of fresh produce and donate the extra food to the local food banks and homeless shelters. Fresh produce is a premium item, difficult to afford on a fixed budget, and donations of such are very welcome. It’s not something that we tend to think about, because canned goods are convenient and cheap and easy to transport.
I think this would be a nice service project for a group or a family to undertake. Folks who get canned goods are able to eat, but getting fresh produce would be a treat.
If you’ve already planted your garden and won’t be planting extra for that specific purpose, you could still donate some of your overabundance. Or, the next time you’re at the grocery store, buy some extra produce and drop it off on your way home. At Albertson’s last weekend we got 3 free watermelons as part of a hotdog/bun deal, and since we already had a watermelon in our fridge, we took them to the City of Refuge, who accepted them gladly.
I’m wondering, would people buy produce at the Farmer’s Market and donate it if a booth were set up nearby to serve as a collection point?
What other ways are there to get fresh produce to families and neighbors who are down on their luck, and are likely to be using these community services?
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Comments
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0 Some great ideas. I think most people plant all the room they have to plant, so I don’t think too many will be able to plant an “extra row” though.
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0 0 Thank you, Nemesis, for this call for kindness reminder. I’ve had a garden for many years, and extra produce from it has usually been split between the shelter we support and the church I attend. In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh dairy is welcome; eggs are an inexpensive and much-used item. Calling the place you wish to donate to would provide you with more information on what they need.
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0 0 Nemesis, thanks for the wake up call to remind all of us that there are many people who cannot afford some of the essentials to a healthy diet. I appreciate your efforts.
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0 0 Nemesis, this is my third and final try to post here. I can’t even remember what I have said in the past posts, so I’m just going to see if this works. Thank you for reminding us that many people cannot afford the essentials for a healthy diet! Okay, ready, set, hit the submit!!!!!!!
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0 0 AHH! I wasn’t blacklisted this time! 
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0 0 Good post Nemesis. And certainly one I never thought of. I’ve always donated can goods, but I didn’t know they took perishables like vegetables and such being that they don’t last much longer than a week or so with most. I buy fresh veggies all the time, but usually about a fourth of them go to waste because my “crisper” doesn’t crisp. It should be called a “wilter” IMO.
Good idea regardless and a nice reminder that our local food bank and soup kitchens will always welcome our donations, not just during the holiday’s but all year long, whether it’s canned or fresh.
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0 0 People have to eat. It’s real basic. Some people don’t have enough to eat. That’s a flat fact no matter whether it’s July or January.
It’s just the way it is.
We can choose to help these people or we can look away and turn away. The choice is purely ours.
Gardening is one wonderful way for most people to feel OK about helping those who need our help. Nemesis also raised a MOST EXCELLENT idea of having a way for people to support local agriculture and local food banks, too, by being able to buy stuff at the Farmers Market and then donate it.
WHAT FUN!
How fun to be able to roam the Farmers Market picking up really cool fresh produce and then be able to immediately donate it! This is an idea whose time has come.
I intend to lobby vigorously for this idea and hope to see it implemented no later than the end of July. Ditto with the new (if it EVER opens) CO-OP.
The Refresher!
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chill, gato, it ain't worth getting your purty fur messed up
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Great suggestions Nemesis! Fresh produce is very expensive and many go without because it simply isn’t in the budget. Thanks for another great post.