I find it hard to refuse a plant offered by a friend, and if a vegetable crop is doing well, I gleefully anticipate the overabundance. With my desire to grow berries, veggies and flowers, it’s not unusual to be in a position where I have a larger harvest than I can manage in my kitchen.
Many gardeners find themselves in similar positions at times and often turn to family, friends and neighbors to share the bounty with. My adult children have many memories of biking from one house to another distributing the overabundance of apples and pears produced by our aging mini orchard. We considered ourselves “Garden Fairies” as we left bags of fruit on many doorsteps. At that time, the food pantry at a local church did not exist — and many organizations supporting the homeless did not accept home-grown produce.
Since 2001, the Virginia Cooperative Extension has been involved with a national program called Plant a Row for the Hungry, initiated in 1995 by The Garden Writers of America (renamed GardenComm) in Alaska. The donations are given to local partners, which turn the produce into fresh delicious meals to feed the hungry.
By contacting your county’s Cooperative Extension Office, you can learn when to drop off the produce. Before dropping it off, the fruits and vegetables need to be recently harvested, have no signs of mold, spoilage, bruising or insects; have excess dirt brushed off, but remain unwashed; and be brought in clean paper bags (preferred) or plastic bags. This program is just one opportunity available for donating unwanted produce, and it continues to be a national success.
Since the 1990s, communities have become more aware of the health benefits of and the need for fresh produce. Organizations are accepting locally grown vegetables, and avenues are opening to direct the harvest where needed. In Richmond, there is a network of community refrigerators placed outside in food desert neighborhoods for anyone to access.
These refrigerators are filled with water, clean fresh produce, and other healthy food by neighbors for those in need. In some localities, restaurants stock a community refrigerator with food not served — and welcome food donations to the refrigerator from the community, too.
On a bit larger scale, I have found small, local food pantries and food banks will now accept clean fresh produce to round out a bag of food for a client. In many communities, small grassroots organizations that serve the unsheltered and others in need welcome random donations of fresh produce with open arms.
Before neighbors begin to hide behind shuttered windows at the mere mention of zucchini, take time to explore local nonprofit outreach and religious-based programs that serve the underprivileged in your community. Learn what each group is seeking — like how, when and where they accept fresh produce. Ask if there are guidelines to follow, like those with Plant a Row for the Hungry. Understand the requested or desired produce needs to be prepared accordingly so volunteers can efficiently move into the hands that need it most.
Create a relationship with the organizations and encourage fellow gardeners to share their excess as well. After all, a few veggies from one garden paired with some from another will make a delicious, healthy and very appreciated meal for someone else.
Happy Gardening!
Peggy