|
|
Volunteers including Story County Master Gardeners and Master Gardener Interns meet each Monday at 6:30 a.m. at Reiman Gardens to accept garden produce, weigh, wash, sort, and bag it for the Bethesda Food Pantry and MICA (Mid-Iowa Community Action). The effort is part in the Plant a Row for the Hungry campaign.
Gardeners can drop off surplus fruits and vegetables at Reiman Gardens between 6:45 and 8:30 a.m. each Monday through September 26. The collection point is the maintenance building north of the garden entrance.
The 2005 Ames effort began the weekend of July 9. Each Saturday a volunteer visits the Ames Downtown Farmer’s Market and another visits the North Grand Farmer’s Market to collect produce vendors wish to contribute as the markets are closing down for the day. The produce is stored in coolers at Reiman Gardens until the volunteers process it on Monday morning for the two food pantries.
Last year Ames-area home gardeners and farmer’s market vendors donated more than two tons of produce during the season.
This year the collections have been:
July 11, 71 pounds
July 18, 47.5 pounds
July 25, 225 pounds
August 1, ___ pounds
The donations received early included kohlrabi, kale, turnips, onions, and cabbage. As the season has progressed, the donations are now primarily squash, corn, cucumbers, eggplants, and onions.
Plant-a Row for the Hungry is a grass-roots effort developed and promoted by the Garden Writers Association of America (GWAA). This public service campaign encourages gardeners to donate produce to local food banks, soup kitchens, and service organizations to help feed America’s hungry. The initial effort was in Anchorage, Alaska in 1995. Since then, the effort has grown to more than 600 communities and at least 31 states and Canada.
Anyone can help in this year’s effort. Besides donating produce, volunteers are needed to pick up produce at farmer’s markets, process the produce on Monday mornings, and delivering to the food pantries.
There are more than 70 million gardeners in the United States. If every gardener donates the surplus, a significant impact can be made on reducing hunger without government participation. Those in need get the benefit of fresh vegetables. Food banks can redirect some of their funds to other needed items.
In Ames, the volunteer committee overseeing the effort includes representatives from Ames Garden Club, Story County Master Gardeners, Story County Extension, Bethesda Food Pantry, ACCESS, Ames Parks and Recreation, MICA, and Reiman Gardens.
If you have questions or want to volunteer for the local Plant a Row for the Hungry effort, contact Reiman Gardens at (515) 294-2710 or visit www.PARStory.org.