GardenHelp.org

In a time when money’s tight, we’re all looking for ways to conserve our resources. In hard times we may not have as much cash readily available to donate to our chosen causes.

A Basket of Food Donated in June

This year has been one of those times in our household. But, we’ve found other ways to share our wealth by donating household items and food from our garden each week to the local food bank. As I write this, I’m chomping at the bit to get out in the garden for our thirteenth week of donation harvests this year. Growing a row for the hungry has been relatively easy to do, and word from food bank volunteers is that every bagful of food makes a huge difference. I propose that any gardener has the opportunity to give back.

September has been dubbed Hunger Action month. Most edible gardens are in full swing. Bountiful crops often produce more than a single household can consume. Apples, pears, peach and plums are littering the ground daily. Food is going to waste. We may be canning and freezing and gorging ourselves on nature’s bounty. Secretly, we may be dropping bags of extra giant zucchini on neighbors’ porches in the dead of night — whether they want them or not. Cucumbers may be hiding under mountains of leaves, growing fat, seedy and not-so-tasty. And, as summer weather wanes and crops race to finish production ahead of autumn, our opportunity to give is, well, ripe.

Interested in donating crops now or in the future? Read on for information on growing, harvesting and donation programs as well as ideas of generous crops to plant specifically with your food bank donations in mind. Getting Your Food to the Hungry

Early Season Leafy Green Donation

Many live under the misconception that food banks won’t take homegrown food or fresh food to distribute to the needy. The reality is, they’ll take just about anything — as long as it hasn’t gone bad. The trick is contacting your local program to find out what days they distribute and what time they like to receive fresh food ahead of distribution.

Our community food bank distributes at 11am on Thursday. Each week on Thursday morning, I bring in a fresh harvest to drop off by 10am. This gives the food bank volunteers time to sort and bag up the fresh goodies.

And, remember, if your pantry is full of canned goods you aren’t likely to consume, drop those off as well. If you do home canning, you’ll need to check with your local program about distribution of such goods. Too, many food banks will also distribute bathroom supplies. We donated a large bag of sample toothbrushes and tiny toothpastes we’d collected over the years from dentist visits along with soaps and shampoos from various hotel visits.

Don’t Have Time to Harvest and Drop Off at the Food bank?

More Food Than We Can Eat = Time to Share!

There are many programs that will come to your home and clean your fruit trees or harvest your potatoes specifically to distribute the food to the hungry. Try calling your own food bank to see if they have affiliates who do this in your area or check out Plant a Row for the Hungry for more assistance. If you’re on Twitter, try searching under #HungerAction or #foodbank for assistance. Here in Seattle, try contacting:

• City Fruit
• Solid Ground
• Community Harvest/Gleanit

Planning to Grow a Row for the Hungry

Way back in the olden times of 1995, the Garden Writers Association started a program entitled Plant a Row for the Hungry to encourage gardeners to do just that. This program helps educate gardeners in growing food and does much, much more to feed the hungry. It is a fantastic resource for anyone just getting started or for veteran givers.

Late Summer Bounty for the Food Bank

But, what if you’re just trying to come up with some ideas of what to grow for donations? Following are a few very generous crops that give throughout the year (in many locations). And, from a single planting of one of these crops, you may find yourself taking multiple harvest for the hungry:

• Chard: This leafy green is simple to grow throughout the year. In very hot weather it may bolt, but otherwise it gives and gives. Cut off a few outer leaves from each plant each week.
• Kale: Much like chard, this leafy green gives and gives. It is hardy in very cold weather and delicious year round. Cut lower/outer leaves each week for generous donations
• Beans: Beans are one of the easiest seasonal crops to grow. Some climb and some bush. Bush beans make fantastic edge-of-border seasonal plants and climbers can provide seasonal privacy. Imagine growing climbing beans in a condo balcony planter for privacy, interest and loads of food.
• Potatoes: Potatoes are simple to grow and generous producers. They thrive and produce incredibly well even in the most depleted soils. There’s a reason they’re a staple in so many cultures. Plus, they store for months and months.
• Lettuce: As long as you’re in cool weather, lettuce grows rapidly and produces generously. Early in the season, harvest outer leaves of heads. Later in the season, take out entire heads and then replant.
  

  This is the donation we made the day this article was written

• Other greens: Perhaps your family will readily eat all the beets and turnips you can grow, but are they eating all the greens? If not, consider cutting the greens off to donate.
• Others: Certainly tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumber, corn, eggplant, garlic, onions, melons and anything else that grows in your garden are foods the food banks love to receive. Don’t hold back. Don’t let them rot in the garden. If you’re overloaded, pass that bounty along!

And on a final note, all of these programs as well as your food banks survive because of volunteers. If you don’t have food to give but you have time, donate that. Offer to help pick your neighbor’s fruit trees. Offer to make sandwiches at the food bank. Cook a meal for an elderly or ill neighbor. Or creatively come up with a donation work item that makes the most of your own particular talents.

If you manage a program that feeds the hungry in your community, please share your experiences and program details here for the benefit of others.

Update: After writing this article, I finished our weekly harvest for the foodbank (shown at right). The harvest included red winter and lacinato kale, mixed fresh beans, red fingerling potatoes, sorrel, basil, tomatoes, chard, jalapenos and some dill (extra from a local farm). On my way home, I noticed a neighbor harvesting from her apple tree. She invited me to come take a harvest for myself and for the foodbank — just like she did last year. More harvesting work ahead, but the bounty is its own reward.

Tags: beans, chard, city fruit, community harvest, donation, feed the hungry, food bank, gleanit, greens, hungeraction, kale, lettuce, plant a row for the hungry, potatoes, soild ground

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 at 9:02 am and is filed under Edible Gardens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.