Gardening for the Hungry

Old 01-16-2010, 09:52 PM
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Its that time of year where people who garden are getting their seed catalogs in the mail. Some will be starting seeds in a couple months while others will wait until the ground thaws (or whenever the local green house has stocked up on transplants).

This year (as some of you already know) I'm starting a gardening project of my own where most of the vegetables and herbs grown will be given away to people who really need it. Even in a little town like the one I live in there's people who are short on food.

I hope that other gardeners on this board (and even those who want to try their hand at growing something) will follow suit and give away some of their produce to those who really need it. Whether its a row of your garden (or a raised bed if you don't do traditional rows) or a single tomato plant in a pot growing on your back porch.
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Old 01-16-2010, 10:07 PM
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What a wonderful thing to do.
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Old 01-17-2010, 12:34 AM
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That is a great idea :D:D:D
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Old 01-17-2010, 02:50 AM
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It's a really great idea! You are such a lovely lady to think of those who need this.
But how do you now wich people are in really need an who not? Because what I learned is that people who really really need this, are not the ones who suffer the most.
And how do you find those people anyway?

I do make sometimes some clothes for the foundation that gives food and clothes to poor people. But that's anomously and your items will be stored. They don't want tomatoplants there. And vegetables most be looking very good, they say, just as in the store. And in my garden things not grow like they could be selled in the store because there are little spots on it or the vegetables has some funny shapes. (But they tast delicious!)
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Old 01-17-2010, 05:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Flying_V_Goddess
Its that time of year where people who garden are getting their seed catalogs in the mail. Some will be starting seeds in a couple months while others will wait until the ground thaws (or whenever the local green house has stocked up on transplants).

This year (as some of you already know) I'm starting a gardening project of my own where most of the vegetables and herbs grown will be given away to people who really need it. Even in a little town like the one I live in there's people who are short on food.

I hope that other gardeners on this board (and even those who want to try their hand at growing something) will follow suit and give away some of their produce to those who really need it. Whether its a row of your garden (or a raised bed if you don't do traditional rows) or a single tomato plant in a pot growing on your back porch.
I don't garden, I have a black thumb, but when people give me veggies in the summer, I always share with others in need.
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Old 01-17-2010, 06:09 AM
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This is a fabulous idea! My hubby is the veggies grower here. He gives so much away, but he takes it to his work place and I take some to mine. These aren't the folks who need it most though... we'll have to look into that.
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Old 01-17-2010, 07:39 AM
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I plan to try my hand at growing some veggies this summer, and also want to do what you are doing as well. There are so many people in need, why not help people out with the extra we have! Very thoughtfull on your part!
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Old 01-19-2010, 01:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Maksi
It's a really great idea! You are such a lovely lady to think of those who need this.
But how do you now wich people are in really need an who not? Because what I learned is that people who really really need this, are not the ones who suffer the most.
And how do you find those people anyway?

I do make sometimes some clothes for the foundation that gives food and clothes to poor people. But that's anomously and your items will be stored. They don't want tomatoplants there. And vegetables most be looking very good, they say, just as in the store. And in my garden things not grow like they could be selled in the store because there are little spots on it or the vegetables has some funny shapes. (But they tast delicious!)
Where I come from...its very small. We don't like have a soup kitchen or anything like that so figuring out where I could possibly find people who'd benefir from this has been a little difficult.

Here in town there's a food drive here every Monday (they just started recently). They got a thing worked out with Wal-Mart where they take foods that are getting close to the expiration date (but are still good). Instead of Wal-Mart throwing it all out they give it away to people who want it. I can't really say how many of the people that show up REALLY need it (they just ask for your name and how many people are in your family)...pretty much anyone with a box can show up. Mom and I went there yesterday (we went there when it first started and haven't gotten a chance to go back) and I guess its gotten so big that they have to hand out numbers...we were 135 and there were still a lot of people behind us.

Initially, my idea for finding people who really needed the food was to go through the local domestic violence group. Because of my unfortunate childhood experiances relating to the subject I know all too well about the abused woman getting out of an abusive relationship and the struggle to get out on her own (espessily when there's kids). So I personally know some of the women who work for the group (later they bought our house after it was forclosed and turned it into a shelter). I had talked about the gardening idea to the one who's in charge and maybe finding some families she works with who might need the food. There's also a group here called Project Christmas who work every holiday season to give food and presents (for the kids) who need it...you know, its not Christmas, but maybe they'd have an idea of how to find people who need the food.
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Old 01-19-2010, 01:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Oklahoma Suzie
Originally Posted by Flying_V_Goddess
Its that time of year where people who garden are getting their seed catalogs in the mail. Some will be starting seeds in a couple months while others will wait until the ground thaws (or whenever the local green house has stocked up on transplants).

This year (as some of you already know) I'm starting a gardening project of my own where most of the vegetables and herbs grown will be given away to people who really need it. Even in a little town like the one I live in there's people who are short on food.

I hope that other gardeners on this board (and even those who want to try their hand at growing something) will follow suit and give away some of their produce to those who really need it. Whether its a row of your garden (or a raised bed if you don't do traditional rows) or a single tomato plant in a pot growing on your back porch.
I don't garden, I have a black thumb, but when people give me veggies in the summer, I always share with others in need.
I thought I had a black thumb, too. I happened to get a job last summer working on all the decorative flower beds around town, but I also had a couple beds at the senior center (which was home base for meeting my site supervisor since she was also running the center) that I could plant whatever I wanted. Besides growing this wonderful flower bed with day lillies, pansies, marigolds, etc. (the green house was just down the road so sometimes I'd get flowers that were on sale before work) I also grew peppers and tomatoes. The tomato plants were five feet tall! This is coming from the person who somehow killed every plant she'd try to take care of. I didn't kill a single plant all summer (even after I had stepped on a tomato plant while planting another one...it grew back!)

Now I don't believe there's such a thing as people with a "green" or "black" thumb. I think its just a matter of how you garden and honing in on those skills.
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Old 01-30-2010, 01:33 AM
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Thank you Flying, I have get my thought about this and you are so right that we have to find the people who are reaaly in need.
The Welfare standard in Holland is a little bit higher than in US but also here are people in real need of some extra food. So I though to ask the church to start something like you do, or ask some social workers and give them the items so they can give it away.
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