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Plant a Row for the Hungry
Click here for Food Bank of the Rockies drop-off sites located in the Denver Metro area. Click on the county where you live and then enter your zip code for the closest drop-off sites.
Plant a Row for the Hungry is a people-helping-people program to feed the hungry in communities across the country.
This national service project, started by the Garden Writers Association Foundation in 1995, encourages gardeners to grow a little extra and donate it to local food agencies.
In 2011, gardeners in the Denver Metro area donated 1220 pounds of fresh produce to more than 20 different food service agencies.
Read more about Plant a Row for the Hungry at http://www.gardenwriters.org.
How to Participate
Just one gardener donating home-grown garden produce to a community food agency makes a big difference. All you have to do is plant and grow, donate and get counted.
Plant and Grow
The campaign is called Plant A Row, but that doesn’t mean you have to plant an entire row. If you can plant only a few extra tomato, pepper or cucumber plants, or a container of lettuce, it means more fresh produce to help feed hungry households.
What to Plant
- Select vegetables and herbs that have multiple uses in the kitchen (like tomatoes, peppers, onions, zucchini and potatoes).
- Choose hardy, disease-resistant plant varieties that are known to grow well in our area.
- Plant vegetables and herbs that mature early and will produce throughout the season, like basil or cherry and grape tomatoes.
- Plant from seed to save money; the easiest veggies to grow from seed include beans, cucumbers, lettuce, peas, pumpkin, radish, and squash.
Donate
Whenever you have fresh produce to donate, contact a donation site near you for drop-off days and times. Click here for Food Bank of the Rockies drop-off sites located in the Metro area.
You can also donate produce at the Food Bank of the Rockies warehouse, 10700 E. 45th Avenue, Denver, 80239 or call 303-371-9250.
Get Counted
After you drop off your produce, please report the approximate number of pounds to Jodi Torpey or post on our Plant a Row Colorado Facebook page so your donation can be included in the national total.
About The Need
The need for fresh fruits and vegetables never goes away. Millions of Americans depend on community nonprofit organizations, churches and food service agencies to help feed hungry families on a daily basis.
According to Food Bank of the Rockies, nearly half the people receiving local donations of food are children…Over half the people have at least one adult in the household working full time…Many must choose between paying for housing, transportation, utilities, medical care or purchasing food.
Plant a Row for the Hungry follows the time-honored tradition of gardeners sharing their harvest with others. For more information, contact Jodi.
Thank you for growing with us!
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